Strawberries With an Almond Creme Anglaise

By this time, the thrill of the fresh strawberries of the season is wearing out, but they still look too good to pass up at the market. Mark Bittman is a master at finding easy and quick recipes, particularly for dessert. Creme anglaise is yummy by itself, but I have to admit the thought of almonds is very intriguing. If you are entertaining for dinner and want a quick dessert, this is it. If you want to dress it up, or "guild the lily" as I often tell my daughter not to do, you can make some meringue shells, fill with strawberries and top with the almond sauce. Any berry will work well with this, particularly blueberries, raspberries or a combination.

Time: 15 Minutes

Yields 6-8 minutes

Ingredients

3/4 cup chopped almonds plus

1/2 cup lightly toasted slivered almonds

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

1/2 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

6 to 8 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered.

1. Put chopped almonds in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until fragrant and beginning to toast, about 3 minutes.

2. Add milk, cream, sugar and egg yolks, and whisk well to combine. Cook, whisking almost constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil.

3. While sauce is still hot, strain it through a sieve and let cool a bit. To serve, put a cup of strawberries in each dish, drizzle with warm sauce and garnish with slivered almonds. Sauce will keep, tightly covered, in refrigerator for up to 3 days.