by Mary Bailey
Since we won’t see local field strawberries until the summer, we are huge fans of Sunterra’s Acme greenhouse-grown Duchess strawberries right now. Grilling some of the fruit lends extra depth of flavour to the sangria. A few tips: use vanilla paste or even vanilla extract if you don’t have a vanilla bean (so expensive now!). Find lemon verbena and rhubarb at the farmers’ markets if you don’t have in your garden. The syrup is best made the day before you plan to use. Adapted from a recipe in Food & Wine.
| ½ c | light brown sugar |
| ½ c | dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc |
| 1 container | Sunterra Duchess strawberries, hulled |
| 1¼ c | coarsely-chopped rhubarb (about 2 large stalks), plus six 4-inch grilled stalks for garnish (optional) |
| 1 2-inch piece | vanilla bean, split lengthwise (use vanilla extract or if don’t have a vanilla bean) |
| 1 sprig | lemon verbena or lemon thyme, or mint, plus more for garnish |
| 6 | wooden skewers, soaked in water |
| 1 bottle | (750 ml) cava or any other dry sparkling wine, chilled |
In a small pot, combine the sugar and white wine with ½ cup of water and bring to a simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Dice 4 of the strawberries and add them to the syrup along with the chopped rhubarb and the vanilla bean. Simmer until the rhubarb is tender, about 20 minutes. (The rhubarb should have transferred most of its colour to the syrup.) Transfer the syrup to a heatproof bowl and add a sprig of lemon verbena. Let cool, then refrigerate until cooled completely, about 45 minutes. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the solids. Discard the solids in the compost.
Light a grill. Thread the remaining strawberries on the skewers and grill over moderately high heat until lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut the strawberries in half lengthwise.
In a pitcher, combine the rhubarb syrup with half of the grilled strawberries and the sparkling wine. Serve the sangria over ice, garnished with the remaining grilled strawberries, lemon verbena sprigs and grilled rhubarb stalks, if using.
Serves 6.