Blueberries are extremely versatile. Not only do they work well in sweet foods and desserts like muffins, cheesecakes and ice creams but they can also be used in delicious savoury dishes. Here are a few of our favourite blueberry recipes.
Blueberry Muffins
These are the muffins we serve in our farm cafe and they are delicious. It’s such an easy recipe and always taste best fresh out of the oven!
Ingredients:
2 C Flour
½ C Sugar (works with less too if you want to be ‘good’)
2 tsps Baking Powder
1 Egg (beaten with a fork)
1/4C Butter (melted)
1 C Milk
½ Tsp Vanilla extract
1¼ C fresh/frozen Blueberries
Preheat oven to 180oC.
Spray and cook 12 muffin cups. (I like to use 6 large muffin cups to make giant muffins).
Combine sifted flour, sugar and BP in a large bowl.
Melt the butter (30secs in microwave on low) and beat the egg and combine in a bowl with milk and vanilla essence. (It works with milk that is sour or plain yogurt)
Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.
Gently add in the blueberries.
Fill the muffin cups to 2/3rds full.
Sprinkle each muffin with brown sugar. I add a bit of nutmeg to the brown sugar, could also use cinnamon or just plain sugar.
Bake for 35mins until browning slightly on top.
Cool for 5 mins and then remove from muffin tin.
Best served warm with butter
Can freeze any leftovers (so far never happened) for up to two months.
Blueberry Smoothie
Blueberry smoothies are fantastically healthy and the variations are endless. Using frozen blueberries means you can enjoy blueberries through the winter long after the fresh blueberry season has ended.
Ingredients:
2 bananas (can be frozen)
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (optional)
Place all ingredients into a blender and puree. Add extra liquid depending on the thickness you want for your smoothie.
Try adding these for variations: fresh mint leaves, yoghurt, or almonds.
Blueberry Balsamic Honey Marinade
This versatile marinade can be used on pork, chicken or steak.
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
chicken breasts / pork chops / beef rump
Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan, bring to a low boil.
Reduce heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes.
You’ll want the mixture to thicken slightly. Remove from heat and cool.
After the mixture has cooled, pour it into a blender and blend until smooth.
Marinate the meat in about 1/3 cup of the sauce and keep the rest as a topping after cooking.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Grill the meat and use the reserved sauce from earlier as a topping.
Blueberry Compote
Use a topping for cheesecakes, spoon over pancakes or ice cream.
Ingredients:
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (optional)
Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes stirring frequently.
Serve warm.
Blueberry Vinaigrette
We always love adding fresh blueberries to our salads. Top it off with some home-made blueberry vinaigrette salad dressing and you have a salad full of goodness and flavour!
Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor / blender until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.