Strawberry Parfaits - 2 Great Ways

One of the best ways to “Keep the State on your Plate” this Easter holiday is to use California strawberries in a dessert. One of the easiest, quickest and prettiest way to turn strawberries into an elegant treat is to use them to make a parfait. Here are two ways to do just that on Easter day.

(Each recipe serves four)

Recipe One - Fast and Simple:

The fastest and simplest way to make a parfait does not involve any cooking and very little preparation.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of fresh California Strawberries
• 4 cups of vanilla ice cream, or heavy whipped cream

Serving dish

• A tall, clear glass (which can be a genuine parfait glass, an old-fashioned tall glass sundae dish, a champagne flute or any tall glass)

Directions:

1. Wash, de-stem, slice and dry the strawberries
2. Place a single scoop of ice cream or yogurt (or a dollop of whipped cream) in the glass
3. Add a scoop of strawberries
4. Add another scoop or dollop of ice cream/yogurt/whipped cream
5. Add more strawberries

Continue to repeat steps four and five until your glass is full; if the final scoop is made up of strawberries, top with a spoonful of whatever dairy topping you are using; if the topping is the final scoop, top with a strawberry or two.

Recipe Two - Fancy, and With a Little More Work:

There are of course more involved, and fancier ways to make a strawberry parfait, provided you want to do a bit more work and a little cooking. To make four servings of this type you will need:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of California strawberries
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 4 cups of yogurt (or vanilla ice cream)
• 2 tablespoons of crushed or slivered nuts
• 1 cup of crumbled cookie crumbs

Directions:

1. Wash, de-stem, slice and dry the strawberries
2. Combine the strawberries, vanilla extract and sugar into a blender and puree
3. Place a scoop of the yogurt or ice cream in the bottom of the glass
4. Sprinkle some cookie crumbs atop that layer
5. Add a scoop of strawberry puree
6. Repeat steps three, four and five until the glass is full
7. Sprinkle some crushed/slivered nuts on top

If desired, place one single, whole (stem and all) washed strawberry to crown the parfait.