Berry Delicious: Sometimes the Best Way to Serve Good Food is the Simple Way

Years ago I studied and worked in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, a little college town at the very tip of the Montreal Island. Tucked away in an old townhouse near the post office, there was a lovely restaurant that most of the students completely ignored. One night when we were looking for somewhere to stop in for a quick coffee, my friend and I discovered what a gem this restaurant is.

It was a hot summer night and I had to be at the hospital for a graveyard shift about an hour later. We’d planned to meet somewhere else but discovered that pretty much everything was closed except for the bars on the boardwalk. When we saw the lights were still on at Le Surcouf, we decided to give it a try.

European Hospitality

Clad in Bermuda shorts and t-shirts and carrying bulky backpacks, we came tumbling in off the street without a reservation. We had been expecting a bistro but discovered instead a fine French restaurant. Embarrassed to be barging into such an establishment without at least some more decent clothes on, we tried to retreat back to the street but were pulled in by a smiling maître d’hôtel. He seated us at a choice table near the window when we would have been happy to be tucked away out of sight near the kitchen door.

There’s something about European hospitality. Authentic French restaurants are usually very welcoming and homey, and quite often, they are family-run businesses. The food and the service may be first-class but they are far from the cold and distant stereotype of a high-brow French restaurant. In Montreal, you can find dozens of other European restaurants – Italian, German, Austrian, and others – that are similarly small and quaint. It’s a little like being invited into the owner’s home and taking a meal with his family.

Bare-y Simplicity

If the service at an authentic French restaurant is simple and straight forward, so is the food. Many of us associate French food with rich sauces and complex preparations. But in reality, French food is often simple peasant food – like the cuisines of many other European nations. It’s a clean, elegant way to prepare the food, that brings out the natural flavour of the ingredients instead of trying to cover them up or transform them into something they’re not. The berries I ate at Le Surcouf are a fine example of that simplicity.

The very best way to serve fresh berries is pretty much as is. Don't cover them with sugar or drown them in sticky glazes. The simplicity of a nude berry is best. A small bowl filled with a variety of fresh berries and topped with a splash of heavy cream or a dollop of Greek yogurt is the very embodiment of perfection! The following recipe is my nod to the lovely summer berries that I first ate in this style at Le Surcouf.

Naked Berry Medley

1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 cup fresh blueberries, stems removed
1 cup fresh raspberries
heavy cream, Greek yogurt, or coconut (vegan) whipped cream

Prepare fresh berries and layer them into several serving bowls or parfait glasses. If you prefer, you can mix them in a bowl first instead of layering.

Top with a dollop of yogurt or add a moderate splash of heavy cream to the dish. If you prefer a vegan option, you can make whipped "cream" from coconut milk and use that instead. Serves 4-6 people.

At about 32-50 calories and only 8-10g of carbohydrates per serving before adding the topping, this dessert is a great choice for anyone who follows a low-calorie or keto diet. It's gluten-free, Paleo-friendly, and safe for vegetarians of all sorts. You can even serve it to your diabetic friends if you choose a low-fat Greek yogurt topping.

This dessert is both tart and sweet. It needs no added sugar, and it will stand up well next to coffee or an after-dinner drink. I've even served this as a breakfast, with a side of homemade cornbread. There were rave reviews from my guest!

Sometimes the best way to serve berries is naked
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(Image from a public domain photo by SkyAngel/Pixabay/CC0)

Original content © 2016 Kyla Matton Osborne. Public domain images by Pixabay users fruhed and SkyAngel, CC0 1.0.

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