Fragole al Vino - May 2010

It's strawberry picking time in New England. The smell of the fresh berries permeate the air at local farmers markets and strawberry festivals are planned all around New England. Not only do folks of New England love of these sweet and fragrant fruit, strawberries are loved and cultivated world wide with a global yearly production of over four million tons. The United States leads the way with a yearly production of over one millions tons.
Besides being pretty darn tasty, loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants there are many interesting facts about strawberries. For instance strawberries are a member of the rose family and the only fruit with its seeds on the outside. The modern garden strawberry was first propagated by French Botanist in mid 18th century, but before that early hunters and gathers enjoyed the tasty wild berries for a short time each spring.
The history of strawberries in Italy goes back to the ancient gods. According to legend when Adonis died Venus wept uncontrollably. The tears rolled down her cheek and dropped to the earth turning into heart shaped strawberries. Italians have cultivated the little berries since pre-Christan times, growing them in elaborate Roman gardens. Today Italy is the worlds fourth largest exporter of strawberries with the most desirable crops coming from an area around the crater lake “Lago di Nemi” in the Alban Hills which overlooks the city of Rome. As with many fresh fruits and vegetables, Italians have many simple preparations for the fresh harvested fruit The most common is the “Fragole al Vino”- “Strawberries with Wine”, a simple preparation of fresh berries drizzled with wine. The wine used often depends on the region of the country. In Tuscany the wine of choice is of course Chianti, in Sicily it's Marsala, in the Astigiano they use Asti a sweet sparkling wine. The use of liqueurs is also common. At Lucia's Tavola the most popular dessert is a Zabglione with Marsala, dark rum and fresh strawberries, which proves Americans love the taste of fresh fruit with wine and liquor..really whats not to love.

After your next trip to the strawberry fields or you local farmers market, try this fast,simple and delicious preparation for your harvest.

1 Quart Fresh Strawberries – cleaned and hulled
3 Tablespoons Raw Cane Sugar
2 Tablespoons Gran Gala Orange Italian Liquor or wine/liqueur of your choice
Mix together and place in refrigerator to chill
Sip Gran Gala while you wait – this is a very important step and should not be omitted
Refrigerate for at least two hours
Serve over Lady Fingers or Ice Cream
For more information about the Chef and Lucia's Tavola
http://www.luciastavola.com/