Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to be all about roses. How about using BC blueberries to show your love (and show some love to your local BC blueberry farmers while you’re at it)?
Frozen local BC blueberries are abundant and readily available year round, and there is so much you can do with them. (People tend to be passionate about fresh blueberries in season, but the fact is that frozen have all the same goodness and quite often even more flexibility in terms of recipes.)
Here are some suggestions on how to use BC Blueberries in Valentine’s celebrations this year:
Overnight BC Blueberry Streusel French Toast Bake with BC Blueberry Maple Syrup
Start the day off with a lazy, decadent breakfast in bed – this recipe can be made the night before for an easy, breezy but made-to-impress Valentine’s breakfast.
Ingredients
French Toast:
2 tablespoons butter, for greasing
1 loaf day-old crusty sourdough bread
8 whole eggs
2 cups whole milk
½ cup whipping cream
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
¾ cup frozen BC Blueberries
Streusel Topping:
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup quick oats
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
BC-Blueberry infused maple syrup:
3 cups frozen blueberries
1 cup maple syrup
Directions
For the French toast base: Grease a 9x 13” baking pan with butter. Cut the bread into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. In a big bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Sprinkle with frozen blueberries and use your fingers to make sure all the bread is soaked in the custard and the blueberries are nestled into the bread cubes. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge overnight.
For the streusel topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Add the butter and with your fingertips or a pastry blender, mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Refrigerate until you are ready to bake.
To Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping evenly over the top. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. The casserole will puff up and the top will be nice and golden brown. Remove from the oven and scoop out individual portions. Drizzle with warm blueberry infused maple syrup.
For the Syrup: Combine 1 ½ cups berries and syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until berries are slightly softened, about 5 minutes, then mash using the back of a spoon. Simmer until the berries have broken down. Remove from heat, strain to remove blueberry skins. Stir in remaining 1 ½ cups of frozen berries and serve warm or at room temperature.
Blueberries are an obvious choice for a sweet post-dinner treat that won’t leave you feeling too full to enjoy the moment! Blueberry chocolate fondue in particular is perfect for a romantic dinner date….
Blueberry Chocolate Fondue
Blueberries are an obvious choice for a sweet post-dinner treat that won’t leave you feeling too full to enjoy the moment! Blueberry chocolate fondue in particular is perfect for a romantic dinner date….
Yields 2 cups
Ingredients
1½ cups (225 g) B.C. blueberries – fresh or frozen
1 cup (240 ml) 35% whipping cream
3 tbsp (30 g) granulated sugar
6 oz (180 g) semi sweet dark chocolate – chopped, (1¼ cups)
1 tbsp (30 ml) liqueur or spirit, such as Grand Marnier or Cognac
Directions
In a saucepan, heat the blueberries, cream and sugar for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Do not boil.
Remove from heat. Puree in a blender, covered with lid and cloth, until smooth.
Return mixture to the saucepan to reheat.
Remove from heat, add the chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth. Stir in the liqueur.
Transfer to a fondue bowl, and serve with fruit and pound cake.
You can even use BC blueberries in your main course – Blueberry risotto is a labour of love (but actually quite easy to make) and guaranteed to impress your date.
Blueberry Risotto
You can even use BC blueberries in your main course – Blueberry risotto is a labour of love (but actually quite easy to make) and guaranteed to impress your date.
Yields 4
Preparation Time 15 min
Cooking Time 25 min
Tips
Use the lighter part of the leek. It’s more tender.
You can opt not to strain the blueberry sauce for a more casual look.
The blueberries add a delicate flavour profile to this classic Italian dish. To complement the exquisite blueberry flavour, we also added some leeks and feta cheese. All of the ingredients work really well together. If you wanted to add a protein to go with this creamy risotto, we would recommend having it with some pan-fried trout, salmon or prawns.
Ingredients
Risotto
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped leek or 1 large finely chopped onion (see note)
1 finely chopped shallot
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
7 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
1/4 cup grated feta (reserve half for garnish)
Blueberry Sauce
1 cup frozen BC blueberries
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp butter
Directions
In a medium saucepan, warm the stock over low heat.
In a large saucepan, warm 2 tbsp of EVOO over low heat. Add the chopped leek and shallot. Stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes or until soft and translucent.
Add the arborio rice and butter and stir for 1 minute.
Add the wine and stir until the wine is completely absorbed.
Add 1 cup of stock and stir until it is absorbed. (Reserve one cup of stock for later). Continue adding 1 cup of stock at a time. Take the risotto off the heat once you have added 6 cups of stock.
In a small saucepan on low heat, add 1 cup of frozen blueberries, 2 tbsp of water and 1 tbsp of butter. Stir for a couple of minutes or until the blueberries release their juices. Strain the blueberry sauce with a sieve. (See note).
Add the strained blueberry sauce to the risotto and stir until combined.
Add 2 tbsp of grated feta to the risotto and stir until combined.
Put the risotto back on low heat. Add the last cup of stock and stir until it has been absorbed. Taste the risotto to make sure it is not too al dente. If it is, add half a cup of water at a time and stir until it is the perfect texture.
Serve while hot.
Garnish with the remaining grated feta.
Media release and images provided by Belinda Rose-Innes, Town Hall Brands.
