petticoatpies

Sauteed Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae

It’s Farmers Market season in Kansas again, and I could not be a happier girl. 

And while it’s still a bit early for many farmers, fresh lettuce, ramps and asparagus abounds, not to mention meat, cheese, and a smattering of herb and vegetable transplants for your own growing endeavors. 

So bright and early (or maybe not so much) this Saturday morning, Adam and I headed out to downtown Overland Park, eager to cook our first farmers market meal. The market there is one of my favorites, and the one we’d visit most often with my mother when we were young. When things really get going, they feature live music and a splash park for little ones to cool their feet. 

We came away with a wealth of green items, including a head of fresh lettuce and a bunch of mustard greens, asparagus, ground beef, jalapeno cheddar bratwursts, ramps, and some freshly baked sweet breads. And in between sunning ourselves on a bench and exploring the newly opened General Store, there was some glorious, springtime recipe planning. 

Here’s what we came up with: grilled burgers with fresh toppings, homemade french fries cooked in olive oil (we’ve gotten dangerously good at these), a salad with the lettuce, greens and grilled asparagus, tossed in a homemade vinaigrette, and…sundaes with sauteed strawberry sauce. 

It was a feast.

It was delicious. But, perhaps because I’m partial to fresh fruit in desserts, or perhaps because I’m eagerly awaiting local strawberry season, or perhaps because it is deceptively quick and easy, the strawberry sauce recipe (adapted from Epicurious.com) is the one I’m going to share tonight.

Ingredients:

• Vanilla Ice Cream (we’re fond of Edy’s Slow Churned Vanilla Bean, due to it’s low-calorie, full-flavor, ingredients-we-can-recognize philosophy)
• Strawberry Sorbet
• Dark Chocolate Bar (for chocolate shavings, though in a pinch, you can just chop it)
• one small orange (for 1 tsp. fresh grated orange peel)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced (we found organic strawberries on sale at Hen House - strawberries are one of the Dirty Dozen fruits, so it’s important to choose organic as so many pesticides can reside in the skin of conventional berries)
• 1 TB butter
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

After you’ve sliced the strawberries, mix the berries with the sugar and cinnamon, tossing to coat. Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium - high heat. Add the berry mixture, cooking until they just begin to soften and release their juices (about 2 minutes). Stir in orange peel. Return to bowl, and place in freezer 10 minutes to cool slightly. I decided to make this earlier in the dinner preparation, so it was ready when we served desert. If you do this, warm the sauce slightly in the same skillet before adding to ice cream.

Simple. Delicious. Strawberry-rific. Three of my favorite things. Enjoy!