The simplest preparation — a blueprint more than a recipe as you can take both the fruits and the aromatics in many directions. See the switches below for spice and botanical combinations that will all amplify the sweet-floral notes in summer berries. The key is using a little sugar to draw the full flavour out of your chosen spice and helping to distribute it evenly. Leaving the cherries and strawberries to macerate briefly creates a puddle of fragrant, lipstick-red syrup.
Ingredients
- Red Cherries 350 g, pitted
- Strawberries 350 g, hulled
- Green Cardamom 4 pods
- Golden Castor Sugar 1-3 Tbs
- Finely Grated Zest and Juice of a small lemon
- Organic Unsprayed Fresh Rose Petals a handful (optional)
Make It
- Tear most of the cherries in half, leaving a few whole. Quarter the strawberries. Tumble all the fruit into a large bowl.
- Grind the seeds from the cardamom with a little of the sugar into a powder using a pestle and mortar. Stir in the remaining sugar, adjusting the amount according to the sweetness of your fruit.
- Toss the spiced sugar, lemon zest, and juice with the fruit, then gently turn through half the rose petals. Leave to macerate for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the fruits and their sweet red juices to a serving dish. Scatter with the remaining rose petals.
Spice Switch
In place of the cardamom and rose petals, you could try any of the following:
- Lightly toasted and ground coriander seeds with elderflower petals
- Black pepper and a chiffonade of basil
- Fennel pollen, brown sugar, and a couple of pinched lavender flowers
- Confetti of cracked pink peppercorns and garden mint
- Crushed passion berries and lime zest
- Ground grains of paradise and lemon zest
