This strawberry ginger sauce comes together in about 30 minutes. Use it as a jam or a delicious topping for ice cream.
I feel bad for ginger.
No not this one,
she’s got quite the life.
This one.
It’s kinda ugly with it nubs and wrinkled skin and people tend to ignore it because they don’t know what to do with it or think it’s too strong.
I’m not afraid to use ginger and I actually like it a lot but, I have to have a reason for buying it. It’s not something that I just happen to have on hand at all times.
So when I walked past it in the store yesterday and looked down into my hand basket to see the 2 pounds of strawberries I was purchasing, it was an instant light bulb moment. I think I may have even let out a little “oh!” as in “oh!, I can use it in a sauce”.
Best idea ever.
Fresh, in season, sweet strawberries and spicy fresh ginger is a match made in sauce heaven.
Oh, and this doesn’t hurt either.
I have a liquor cabinet full of obscure liquors that I needed 1 ounce for at one point in time for some recipe, usually a holiday cookie or cake and then never use again. Anytime I can use these orange liqueurs and apricot brandies I get super excited, maybe by the time I’m 50 they’ll be gone.
I added orange juice, the orange liquor and the chopped up strawberries to a sauce pan and let them come to a boil.
Then I added some brown sugar, a cinnamon stick and minced ginger and let it boil away for about 30 minutes until it reduced and thickened. I stirred it frequently to kind of break down the strawberries even further.
The end product was somewhere between a sauce & jam consistency. Barely sweet, slightly spicy. And, totally delicious.
Want to know what torture looks like?
A near empty container of vanilla ice cream when you thought it was at least half full.
I was nice, we shared. But for the record, I didn’t want to.
Over ice cream, it’s like a sundae topping gone gourmet.
Do it.
And if you need a back-up plan, there’s always lemon rosemary olive oil cookies for dunking.
I dare you to try and have just one.
I haven’t decided on breakfast yet but, I can assure you whatever it is, it will be topped with this.
Strawberry Ginger Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb strawberries, chopped
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- splash of orange liquor, optional
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 inch nub of ginger, minced
Instructions
- Combine chopped strawberries, orange juice and liquor in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add remaining ingredients and boil on medium for about 30 minutes or until sauce thickens and reduces.
- Serve warm and then keep refrigerated.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
WANT. Yes, I will try this sauce at some point! It looks so good!
Ginger is so cool. I like its weirdness. It also smells amazing.
I often have ginger on hand. I use it in a tea when I’m sick with a cold or when my tummy is upset. Great for nausea or indigestion. I just chop it coarsely and pour hot water over it. I like it strong and plain, but if you want a little honey or lemon, it wouldn’t hurt.
Oh, sweet sweet ginger. How I would love to eat some of you right this moment, especially crystallized, especially in a cookie.
GIMME DAT!