On my way to the farmers market this week, basking in the glorious weather, I quickly skimmed through my Twitter to see if any breaking news had occurred in the last four minutes. It hadn’t.
Instead, the most stunning photo I had ever seen of strawberries popped up on my feed from Kernan Farms, and my knees went weak. I don’t know if I’ve never experienced anything better than that first juicy bite into a ripe berry. Enjoying the first strawberries of the season is like jumping into cool water on a hot day — few things are more refreshing.
Abandoning my original recipe plans, I hunted down some lemongrass from Bradley Farm and snagged one of the last pints of berries. Between weddings, graduation, and the general thrill of summer, celebrations aren’t that hard to come by this time of year, so we’re all likely to have a bottle of bubbly around somewhere (if not, then perhaps this recipe will be an excuse to get one). I fortunately had some leftover champagne that had gone flat and I wanted to put it to good use.
Here’s how you can, too:
Strawberry Champagne Snow Cones
For the puree:
12 strawberries, hulled
1/8 cup sugar
Handful of lemongrass
For the snow cone:
1/4 cup strawberry puree
1/4 cup champagne
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1. For the puree, cook the hulled strawberries, 1/8 cup sugar and lemongrass over medium-low heat until the berries are soft. Let cool and strain through a sieve into a bowl or liquid measuring cup.
2. Combine puree, 1/2 cup sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat on low until the mix begins to boil. Remove from heat, stir in champagne and let sit out for a half hour.
3. Pour into a level glass pan and put in freezer. Scrape with a fork about every half hour until it is frozen. For a chunkier iced confection, don’t scrape as often. The result is somewhat softer than solid ice, so don’t be nervous when your concoction doesn’t freeze completely (this is due to the alcohol in the ice). After a night in the freezer, your treat should be ready to go!
And in case you missed it, here’s another snow cone recipe with honey, thyme and bourbon.
