Francesco Mazzei's strawberry soup recipe produces a wonderful Summer dessert, infused with thai basil and Szechuan pepper and served with heavenly vanilla mascarpone. Mosto cotto is used in a similar way to balsamic vinegar, and is made from syrupy grape juice.
You want to start by emulsifying the mosto cotto. Add it to a bowl with the olive oil and salt, whisk vigorously until it all comes together. Place to the side until needed.
For the strawberry soup; wash and hull the strawberries and cut into halves. Add to a bowl along with the pepper, sugar, lemon zest and Thai basil. Mix so the strawberries are well covered and leave to marinade in the fridge for 2 hours.
Once the 2 hours are up, remove the basil leaves. Add the remaining mixture to a blender and blitz until it is extremely smooth. Leave this in the fridge.
For the mascarpone; combine the mascarpone with the vanilla seeds and icing sugar.
To serve; pour the refrigerated strawberry soup into 4 bowls, add quenelles of mascarpone and a drizzle of the mosto cotto emulsion. Garnish with strawberry slices and edible flower petals. Serve.
