This weekend, I bought a ton of strawberries from the farmers’ market (this isn’t even half of them, I swear). I definitely got too many but sometimes I get excited over good, local produce. I decided to make some sort of strawberry compote before they went bad. I figured I could use it on yogurt (as a sort of parfait) or on top of a dessert later in the week. But I knew that it couldn’t be just strawberries and sugar.  I was out of fresh basil but that seemed to generic, anyway.  So I perused my spice rack and came up with Cardamom!

Obviously, the first step is to wash the berries thoroughly (I use Veggie Wash because it’s organic). Then I cut the tops off and cut them into roughly the same size. Now I’m not going to give measurements for this recipe. I’m not too big on recipes (unless you’re baking). I’d rather teach the idea behind the recipe.

So, for this compote, I did all the strawberries I could fit into the pot. Then I tossed them with just enough sugar to coat. You could substitute honey or agave but I really prefer sugar for compotes. I then poured about 1 oz. of organic orange juice in. I use orange juice for a bit of acidity for the cooking (it helps break down the strawberries) and it helps to balance out the flavor.

I tasted it a couple of times as it was cooking to test for sweetness. It had the desired sweetness but it felt like it was missing something. So I looked around to try to figure out what could give it a little extra attitude. I’m not sure if cardamom necessarily gave it attitude but it definitely made the compote aromatic and gave it an almost fragrant taste.

It was everything I hoped it would be. And more. I’ve been pairing it with a ginger cashew granola and some organic whole milk vanilla yogurt, both from Whole Foods. I was going to share a finished product picture, but it’s just not that pretty. You’ll have to make due with my step by step pics above.