Last month Alex and I spent a weekend in Philadelphia. We ate at Vedge and wandered through Reading Terminal Market, sampling everything from savory to sweet — including an unforgettable pretzel-studded caramel ice cream at Bassett’s. The market also had tempting specialty shops; I lingered over a display of flavored balsamic vinegars — maple, chocolate, espresso, fig, cranberry — beautiful but pricey. I almost bought one until I noticed it was made in California.
It’s always a little disappointing to find a so‑called local souvenir isn’t local at all. I remember a family trip to Belize in middle school when my mom bought a souvenir only to discover later it was manufactured in China. Still, that’s not necessarily a bad thing: in this case it pushed me to make my own version of a flavored balsamic sauce, based entirely on Joshua Bousel’s excellent recipe at Serious Eats. I didn’t change anything significant—only doubled the ingredients to have more sauce on hand.
Although it’s early in the season for strawberries, simmering them with vinegar and sugar concentrates their flavor, so ordinary supermarket berries work well here. I chose to serve this strawberry balsamic sauce with easy orange-scented polenta cakes for a brunch dish, but the sauce is versatile: it pairs beautifully with grilled chicken, salmon, or pork tenderloin, and makes a great topping for pancakes, waffles, yogurt, or even ice cream.
This is also a convenient make-ahead recipe. The sauce keeps at least a week in the refrigerator, and the prepared polenta can be chilled for a few days; just pan-fry the wedges before serving to crisp them up.
Orange Polenta Cakes with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce
Serves 4 with plenty of leftover sauce
Sauce adapted from Joshua Bousel via Serious Eats
For the polenta cakes:
1 cup orange juice
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1–2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
All-purpose flour (for frying)
Vegetable oil (for frying)
For the sauce:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
4 cups coarsely diced strawberries
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
To make the polenta cakes, spray a 9-inch pie dish with nonstick spray.
In a medium saucepan, bring the orange juice and 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the salt, vanilla, and maple syrup or honey. Spread the polenta evenly in the prepared pie dish and cool until firm, at least 1 hour. At this point the polenta can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days.
To make the sauce, bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vinegar has reduced to about 1/4 cup, roughly 10 minutes. Add the strawberries, brown sugar, salt, and lemon zest and simmer until the strawberries soften and release their juices, about 5 minutes. Mash the strawberries against the side of the pan with the back of a wooden spoon, then continue simmering until the sauce is thick and syrupy, about 10 more minutes. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.
To assemble and serve, preheat the oven to 200°F and line a baking sheet with foil. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet.
Place the flour on a plate. Cut the chilled polenta into 8 wedges. Working in batches, dredge the wedges in flour and fry until crisp and golden, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.
Serve the polenta wedges topped with generous spoonfuls of strawberry balsamic sauce.