Balsamic-Herb Marinated
Strawberries with Peppered
Mascarpone and Crisp Bacon
Naturipe Farms
1/2 pound bacon
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
2 teaspoons coarsely
ground black pepper
15 Naturipe Farms*
fresh strawberries
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped
fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped
flat-leaf parsley
Cut bacon across the shorter width into strips about
1/4 inch wide. Sauté over medium heat, stirring
occasionally, until deep brown. Drain well. Transfer
to absorbent paper to remove excess fat and let cool.
Place mascarpone and pepper in a bowl and gently
mix with a spatula or beater to incorporate the pepper
evenly. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag with a
plain tip (see tip below). Keep refrigerated.
Trim strawberries and cut in half lengthwise.
Keep refrigerated.
To serve, gently toss strawberries with vinegar, basil
and parsley. Arrange cut-side up on a tray. Pipe a
small amount of cheese onto each berry. Garnish with
bacon. Makes 30 appetizers.
Tips: A good pastry bag to use is an Ateco with a
# 807 tip. If you don’t have one, a small zip-top
plastic bag does the trick. Just snip off a lower corner
of the bag to pipe the cheese out. Also, freezing the
bacon makes it easier to cut. Freeze it, cut it, then
cook it.
Brands may vary by region; substitute a similar product.
Blueberry Mini-Satays with Yogurt
Dip and Spicy Pine Nut Topping
Naturipe Farms
1 cup yogurt, full-fat
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons minced chives
1/2 cup toasted pine
nuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground
roasted chiles (or
1/8 teaspoon crushed
red pepper)
1 teaspoon ground
sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces (about 150)
Naturipe Farms*
fresh blueberries
30 small decorative
skewers
In a shallow bowl, combine yogurt, cumin, sugar and
chives. Whisk together until the sugar dissolves.
In another shallow bowl, combine pine nuts, ground
chiles, sesame seeds and salt. Whisk until well blended.
Thread 5 blueberries onto each skewer.
Dip one side of each blueberry satay in the yogurt
mixture. Then push that same side into the pine nut
mixture to adhere. Makes 30 satays.
Brands may vary by region; substitute a similar product.
