Our recipe combines seared foie gras with fresh strawberry waffles, strawberry sauce, and tart balsamic syrup for the best brunch ever.
Make the strawberry sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine strawberries, ½ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook until strawberries are very soft. Carefully add strawberries to a blender and puree until completely smooth. Pour sauce back into the saucepan and bring back up to a boil, cooking for about 3 minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Keep warm.
Make the waffles: Set aside 2 nice strawberries for garnish. Dice remaining strawberries and add to a bowl with 1 tablespoon sugar and Grand Marnier, if using. Stir then let strawberries macerate at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining tablespoon sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until the mixture comes together. Fold in the macerated strawberries and 1 teaspoon of their juice along with the melted butter. Cover and let the batter rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Heat waffle iron according to the manufacturer's directions. Brush with melted butter and ladle batter onto the iron. Close the cover, and cook until crisp. Repeat. Transfer waffles to baking pan fitted with a rack and keep warm in the oven.
Prepare the foie gras: Heat a dry skillet over high flame. Using a sharp paring knife, score the foie gras in a crosshatch pattern. Season with salt. When the pan is very hot, add the foie gras and lower the heat to medium-high. Sear until the foie gras slices are dark brown. Turn them over and cook on the other side until fully cooked but still soft to the touch, basting a few times with rendered foie gras fat. Set foie gras slices on a paper towel to drain.
To serve: Pool strawberry sauce in the center of a plate. Place a warm waffle on top, off-center. Top with foie gras slices. Drizzle with balsamic syrup, garnish with half of a reserved strawberry. (To make balsamic "hearts" like we did in the above photo, instead of drizzling, place balsamic syrup in a line of dots inside the perimeter of the strawberry sauce. In a single motion, drag a toothpick through the center of each dot.) Serve.