Warm Summer's Berries with Vanilla Ice Cream

Last night--New Year's Eve supper--for dessert after a first course of red salmon caviar and a main course of moules marinières, I adapted a recipe in "Jeremiah Tower Cooks" called Warm Fruit Stew. I had written on the page, "Perfection. Divine." Although purists would feel it's poor form to serve a summer dessert in the thick of winter, I felt it was the ideal ending to a rich but simple meal--and what the heck, bringing summer's warmth to the end-of-the-year table felt optimistic. Besides, where these berries came from, it was summer. Purists shmurists...
My addition to Tower's recipe was also simple. Years ago when I was putting together a piece about granités for Vogue magazine, I found a note buried in Escoffier: to heighten the flavor of red fruits, add a touch of orange and lemon...to all other fruits, add a touch of lemon. This is the sort of inspired observation that elevates cookery.
I love it when a composition with few ingredients emerges grander than the sum of its parts. This is an easy, elegant and festive dessert that merits a top spot in the sophisticated cook's repertoire, summer OR winter.
Light Syrup:
2 rounded tablespoons sugar (vanilla sugar, if you have it)
1/3 cup water
1/2-inch-wide strip of zest from around the middle of 1 tangerine or orange
Berries:
1 cup hulled and halved strawberries
1 cup blackberries
1 cup blueberries
Finish:*
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of coarse salt
1 pint vanilla bean ice cream (I recommend Häagen-Dazs "five")
The syrup is quickly made (and can be prepared hours in advance or put together just before using): combine sugar and water in a small skillet, stir over medium-high heat till sugar dissolves, simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, scrape off any white from the back of the zest, then cut zest crosswise into slivers. Remove syrup from the heat and blend in the zest. Cover until needed.
Just before serving, combine the berries and syrup in a largish skillet and gently stir to coat the berries. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes, shaking the skillet, add the butter, lemon juice, and salt and continue shaking until the butter melts, another minute. Serve at once on plates with a dollop of ice cream in the center.
NB: Tower calls this a stew and wants it served on plates...I think of it as a compote and would have reached for pretty bowls, but who am I to contradict Jeremiah Tower?
*I had the butter, juice, and salt in a saucer by the stove, ready to go.