Strawberries are one of those fruits which work exceptionally well in savoury dishes. This flavour combination is one I first came across at The East India Company. I’ve gone for a very peppery finish but you can play around with the right balance for you by simply grinding a little pepper and then adding more as you wish. Remember though that the pepper flavour ill be stronger while you are tasting because the jam is hot so add a little more to compensate.
Also this recipe is based on an oven baked version that I came across on the Sweet Eve Strawberries website – it is so wonderfully easy!
You’ll need
- 1kg fresh ripe and fat strawberries
- 625g caster sugar
- 1 -2 level tbsp freshly ground black pepper (or to your taste)
To make it
1. Firstly preheat the oven to 200C
2. Measure out 750g of strawberries and then hull them so you have just the soft parts. Don’t worry if they are overripe or mushy.
3. Pop the strawberries onto a baking tray and then pop them in the oven for 20-30 mins.
4. Pour the caster sugar onto another baking tray and then pop that in the oven too for the same timeframe but watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t melt. You want the sugar to be hot but not start cooking.
5. Hull the remaining strawberries and then chop them into small cubes – 1cm or so – and then set aside.
6. Pour the sugar on to the hot strawberries and stir it til well combined. It will start to thicken really nicely as it cools so try to be quick with the stirring!
7. Stir in the chopped strawberries, then the ground black pepper and then pour into a sterilised jar. I simply dishwash my jar and then pop it in the oven for 5 minutes.
That’s it! Really easy and perfect for wet fruit like strawberries.
