Strawberries in Balsamic Vinegar and Orange Sugar

JustJanS's Note:

I got this recipe from my daughter-in-law who got it from her mum, who got it for a friend and I plan to take it to my sister's for Christmas dinner. Don't like the sound of it? Great! More for me. Seriously, we had it last night and I could have eaten the whole dish on my own. This is one of those dishes that is made better by using good ingredients-our strawberries were fresh from the farm and beautiful!

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 punnets fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch mint
• 2 oranges
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 300 ml double cream or 300 ml whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Cointreau liqueur

Directions:

1. Rinse strawberries to remove any grit, cut tops off .
2. Put strawberries into a bowl and sprinkle with icing sugar and pepper.
3. Chop mint finely and add to strawberries and mix well.
4. Add Cointreau to the strawberry mix, cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
5. Zest oranges into a mortar & pestle, add the caster sugar and pound until a smooth orange sugar forms.
6. Put 1/2 of this orange mix into a container, cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve. Place the other 1/2 and the cream into a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Cover this and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
7. Just before serving, add the vinegar to the strawberries and mix together.
8. Place the strawberries onto a long serving dish (straining the majority of the juice) and top with the cream mixture. Sprinkle the remainder of the orange sugar over the top of the cream – serve.