Chocolate Covered Strawberry Recipe

The recipe uses only a small amount of chocolate for each strawberry, so you won't be overdosing. Choose good quality, dark chocolate, with a high cocoa-solids content.

Find out more about the chocolate facts here.

As for the strawberries - ideally you should save strawberry recipes for the summer, when strawberries are in season and you'll be able to buy local, organic fruit. Out of season, you may have to buy imported, forced strawberries, which seldom have such a good flavour and have also travelled many long air-miles.

There is another possibility, though. Certainly, in the UK, there's been such a big consumer reponse against eating out-of-season imported fruits, that local growers are starting to respond by nurturing fruit under glass so that's it's available for a longer season.

I've recently seen local strawberries grown in this way, and available a good 10 weeks before the natural season should begin - and the flavour is good. So far, they're not that widely available, but if we shoppers keep asking, then supply is sure to improve.

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY RECIPE

• Take 20 medium to large ripe strawberries. Chop 120 (4 oz) dark chocolate.
• Melt in microwave, or by placing in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth.
• Dip the base of each strawberry into the melted chocolate. Place stalk-side down on a plate and chill until set.

As a variation on this recipe, you can dip the strawberries first in dark chocolate, and allow to set. Then dip again, this time into melted white chocolate, so that some of the dark chocolate still shows.