roasted strawberry sundaes

It was the typical July 4th in San Francisco — beautiful until 4:30 in the afternoon, then the fog came swooshing through the Golden Gate, the temperature dove to 55°F and the fireworks were colored blurs in the clouds. So while most of the country was roasting, I was roasting strawberries. I swear it’s worth turning on the oven for this, even in summer. The fruit comes out intensely concentrated, with a built-in syrup, and begs to be poured over ice cream. I put it on this super-easy yogurt ice cream I’ve been making (just whisk together a few ingredients and freeze). Or use store-bought vanilla ice cream. Or put the roasted strawberries on pancakes or waffles or crepes. Or set this recipe aside for when you can bear to face your oven again.

ingredients

1 pound medium-large strawberries
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
vanilla ice cream or Greek yogurt ice cream

directions

Hull the strawberries and cut each one in half through the stem end. Place in a bowl and sprinkle vinegar over berries; toss well. Set aside at room temperature for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Put the butter in a baking dish just large enough to hold the berries in one layer. Place the dish in the oven to melt the butter. When it has melted, remove from oven and tilt dish to coat with butter. Pour strawberries and any accumulated juices into dish. Sprinkle sugar over strawberries and stir lightly. Roast on lower rack of oven until the strawberries are soft and liquid is syrupy, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. To serve, scoop ice cream into bowls and top with strawberries and syrup from baking dish.