Fraises au Vin

Name: Fraises au Vin
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 600 g ripe strawberries, hulled; 200 ml young red wine (Bordeaux, Beaujolais or Pinot Noir, nothing too heavy or tannic); 2 tbsp caster sugar (or more, to taste); 0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 6 leaves fresh mint, finely shredded; 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional); Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Strawberries macerated in a glass of red wine with sugar, black pepper and fresh mint: a French country preparation of startling simplicity and elegance, where the wine does not overpower but perfumes, drawing out the berries' own depth

Origin: Périgord, Bordeaux region & Brittany, France

From the journey of Strawberry.

Fraises au vin is one of those French country preparations so simple it barely qualifies as a recipe; and yet it is deeply civilised, a dish that reveals what French culinary culture means by 'letting good ingredients speak.' The tradition of macerating fresh fruit in wine is ancient; Roman cooks preserved and flavoured fruit in wine, and the practice carried through medieval banquet culture. In Périgord and the Bordeaux region, where wine is as fundamental as bread, the pairing of local strawberries with a glass of young red Bordeaux has been a summer ritual for centuries. The black pepper; a detail that surprises modern cooks; is essential: it does not make the dish hot but rather brings out the aromatic compounds in both the strawberries and the wine, heightening the fruitiness of both. The same effect is achieved in many classic strawberry preparations: Escoffier recommended pepper with strawberries in his Guide Culinaire.

Ingredients

Fruit

600 g ripe strawberries, hulled

Wine

200 ml young red wine (Bordeaux, Beaujolais or Pinot Noir, nothing too heavy or tannic)

Sweetener

2 tbsp caster sugar (or more, to taste)

Spice

0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Herb

6 leaves fresh mint, finely shredded

Acid

1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Serving

Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method

Hull the strawberries. If large, halve or quarter them. If small (fraises des bois type), leave whole. Place in a wide, shallow bowl.
Sprinkle the sugar over the strawberries and toss gently to coat. Allow to sit for 5 minutes; the sugar will begin to draw out the juice from the berries.
Pour the red wine over the sugared strawberries. Add the black pepper, mint and lemon juice (if using). Toss gently once to combine.
Cover the bowl loosely and allow to macerate at room temperature for 45–60 minutes. Do not refrigerate during this time: the cold suppresses the aromatic development.
Taste the macerating liquid and adjust sugar if needed. The liquid should be sweet but tart, deeply fruity and just barely peppery.
Transfer to individual serving bowls or glasses, spooning the wine-strawberry liquid over the top. Serve immediately at room temperature.
Serve with a spoonful of crème fraîche on the side, or with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Crusty bread to mop up the wine-strawberry juices is entirely traditional.

Notes

The most important element is the quality of the strawberries. French fraises des bois, tiny wild woodland strawberries, are the ideal for this dish, and when in season they are incomparable. Modern gariguette or mara des bois varieties (available at good farmers' markets) are excellent alternatives. Commercial supermarket strawberries can work, but they must be ripe: a hard, flavourless strawberry will not improve in wine. The pepper is non-negotiable: leave it out and you have merely drunk wine poured over strawberries. The pepper is what makes it a recipe.

The Gastrographer

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control