A very festive looking and rich sauce which you can cook on your family gatherings and to your loved ones. So aromatic and with lovely fresh fruits.
Cooking time 30 minutes
Serves 6
Ingredients 500gr of fresh Strawberries diced into small cubes 1 big size Apple diced into small cubes 100gr Caster Sugar 2 Star Anise 3 Cardamom pods 2 small Cinnamon sticks A pinch of Salt and Pepper 1 medium size Orange for zest and juice 100ml Porto Wine
How to make
First prepare all ingredients above.
Heat a Pan on medium low heat, add sugar in a Pan, and shake the pan to spread the sugar evenly.
Next add 2 star anise, 2 small sticks of cinnamon and 3 cardamom pods, break them and add in. Then let sugar caramelize slowly with all these aromatic spices.
Meanwhile wash ½ kilo of Strawberries if you haven’t done before. Remove the top green of them with a small knife and dice it into 1 inch square cubes. It doesn’t have to be really perfect.
By this time caramel is almost done, at this right moment don’t use any ladle or spatula, just shake it lightly to melt the sugar evenly. Heat still should be on medium low, control the heat because everyone’s heat is different we just don’t want to let it burn.
A tip to make perfect caramel is to not touch the sugar while it is being caramelizing in medium or medium low heat!
When the Caramel is done it takes around 6 minutes, add in the diced Strawberries and shake the pan, and let them soften.
Next add a big size apple, wash, and peel, remove the core of it and dice in small cubes.
After 6 minutes when Strawberries seems soft and the caramel is dissolved with the strawberries juice, then add in the diced apple and you can use spatula to mix well to combine. Let it soften.
After the apple seems half soft or around 4 minutes, add 1 medium size Orange zest and all juice, around 5 to 6 tbsp. Mix all well and let it cook for a minute or two.
Then add 100ml of Porto wine, it brings up the flavor up as well as make it look richer in color. Mix well to combine and let it thicken a bit, here if you need, you can turn heat up to medium to dry fast but control the heat.
Next a touch of salt and pepper, it helps to enhance the flavor. Mix it.
Let it thicken a bit. Remember the apple needs to be soft but doesn’t have to be too liquid, I love still a little chunk of soft apple. If you have the consistency that you prefer then you are done.
Let’s transfer to serving bowl, decorate with cinnamon or orange zest to make it more welcoming and festive, by this time looks so rich and gorgeous. Use this sauce to go with your meat dishes, it give a sweet and fruity flavor. Enjoy
