A fresh seasonal strawberry is perfectly lovely. But a roasted one? It's like a strawberry squared.

We've long been fans of the strawberry desserts from Range's Michelle Polzine. So with the fruit's season upon us, we turned to her for sage berry advice.

"Strawberries should be either raw or cooked for eternity," she notes. "I hate everything about slightly cooked strawberries." As such, when Polzine is not serving raw berries from such farms as Lucero Organic Farms or Dirty Girl Produce on tarts or with shortcakes, she tosses them with sugar, then roasts them at a low temperature for up to eight hours.

The results are astonishing. The berries contract, their sweetness concentrates and their texture transforms from crisp to supple.

At Range, Polzine uses the roasted berries in such desserts as her cornmeal crêpe with crème fraîche ice cream alongside mascarpone flavored with honey and rosewater and a reduction of the leftover strawberry juices, rhubarb, and Brachetto d'Acqui. Roasted berries are also the secret ingredient in her superb strawberry ice cream.

If you want to replicate her revolutionary technique at home, you're in luck: We had Polzine relay her approach step-by-step (click here to download the recipe).

Bring on the berries.

Range, 842 Valencia St. (between 19th and 20th sts.); 415-282-8283 or rangesf.com