Market Morsels: Strawberries

I seem to have berries on my mind these days. A few post ago I told you how to make a quick and easy Mascarpone Cream topping for your spring berries. Today, it’s a delicious Strawberry Mascarpone Tart courtesy of Gourmet Magazine. While you may have missed this year’s Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, you can still pick up some gorgeous, perfectly red pints of strawberries from your local farmers markets. Here’s a fresh, tart and creamy way to prepare those strawberries.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Glaze (serves 8 )

1 1/2 pounds strawberries (about 1 1/2 quarts), trimmed and halved lengthwise
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup ruby Port
1 pound mascarpone (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Follow our directions for the perfect pie crust, adding the zest of 1 lemon to the crust. Assemble and bake. When the crust has cooled proceed as follows:

Stir together strawberries and granulated sugar in a bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Strain in a sieve set over a small saucepan, reserving berries. Add Port to liquid in saucepan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together mascarpone, confectioners sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until stiff.

Spread mascarpone mixture evenly in cooled tart shell, then top with strawberries. Drizzle Port glaze all over tart.