Strawberries infused with balsamic vinegar with spiced yogurt
I am publishing this recipe in honor of my friend Nuria, who has given me a book by none other than the great Basque master José María Arzak.
After reading it and rereading it (and drooling just at the names of his creations), I decided to give this one a try, adapting it, as it is one of the most simple—you already know I don’t like to complicate things—taking advantage of the fact that Spanish strawberries have already arrived in Swiss and German supermarkets (and what strawberries!).
I have not followed the instructions exactly—hence the “adapting”—but here I write the original so that you can later make any variations you consider. At the end I will tell you what I have changed.
Enjoy the luxury!
Ingredients for 4 people
180 g strawberries
60 g acacia honey
40 g sugar
4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar of Modena
1 dl water
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 l whole milk
2 tablespoons skimmed milk powder
1 plain yogurt
2 cloves
1 pinch of pepper
1 pinch of anise
fresh mint leaves
Preparation
Clean the strawberries, cut them, and place them in a container, still damp, with the sugar.
In a saucepan, heat the water, honey, and cinnamon to make a syrup. When it boils, add the Modena vinegar and turn off the heat. Place the strawberries with the sugar into this liquid to infuse until it cools.
To make the spiced yogurt, heat the milk with the spices slowly without exceeding 42ºC. Then add the powdered milk and stir until dissolved.
Turn off the heat and let the temperature drop to about 38ºC. Add the yogurt and stir well.
Strain this preparation and fill individual jars (preferably glass) with it.
Place them in a yogurt maker and let them incubate for the recommended time, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
For presentation, place the strawberry infusion with its sweet-and-sour juice at the bottom of a deep plate, and on top add a few spoonfuls of spiced yogurt, to which you can add a little sugar or honey.
Decorate with mint leaves.
Things to keep in mind
Although the recipe says it is for 4 people, it only yielded two desserts for me (each consisting of 4 strawberries as you can see in the photo).
Instead of acacia honey I used linden honey (the point is to sweeten it); you can use any type of honey.
I made it with whole strawberries so they would look better in the photo, but the original recipe says to cut them, and for ease of eating it is definitely better to cut them beforehand (also when caramelizing them with the infusion, they will become softer).
Instead of cloves, anise, and pepper, I used ground cinnamon and pepper and the flavor is very good, but what really gives it the special touch is the balsamic vinegar infusion (a bit strong for my taste; next time I will use 3 tablespoons instead of 4).
Up to the yogurt maker step everything was fine, but since I don’t have one and it wasn’t thickening, I put it in the freezer for a few minutes and the result was a kind of very tasty granita—with which I achieved the desired consistency.