Grappa-Soused Summer Fruit

• 1/4 cup grappa or other brandy
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Zest of 1/2 lemon, in strips
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 10 mint leaves, torn in half
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fresh coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 cups strawberries, hulled and cut in half if large
• 1 cup raspberries
• 4 large figs, cut into quarte

1. Mix grappa with sugar in a large nonreactive bowl until sugar dissolves.
2. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, mint and pepper.
3. Add fruit; toss, and let sit 2 hours at room temperature.
4. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.
5. For more intense grappa flavor in fruit, macerate overnight in refrigerator.
6. Serve on its own or with vanilla ice cream and butter cookies.

grappa, sugar, lemon, lemon juice, mint, fresh coarsely ground black pepper, strawberries, raspberries, figs

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7666 (may not work)