Strawberry Sauce

From Cook's Country

April/May 2005

Why this recipe works:

We wanted a thick Strawberry Sauce that could be spooned over slices of cheesecake (or over ice cream). We recommend using frozen berries unless you can find very ripe ones. We added sugar and strawberry jam to the berries to create a thick sauce. And we stirred the berries gently as they cooked—we wanted our Strawberry Sauce to maintain large chunks of fruit.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

This strawberry sauce pairs perfectly with our basic Icebox Cheesecake, but it also goes nicely with the Key lime variation (and it makes a great sauce for ice cream). Frozen strawberries work well in this recipe, but if you can find fresh, very ripe berries, by all means, use them instead. Be sure to stir the strawberries gently so that they do not break down completely--large chunks of strawberries are very appealing. You can make this sauce up to 2 days in advance.

Ingredients

1 pound frozen strawberries, whole
1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch table salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

Combine strawberries, jam, sugar, and salt in medium saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until sauce has thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, and transfer to medium bowl. Cool for 30 minutes, then loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.