Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 standard muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) lightly salted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup milk
2½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard 12-hole muffin tin and set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and 1¼ cups of sugar and cream at low speed until the mixture is smoothly blended. At low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and blend. Add the flour mixture and the milk a little at a time, alternating one with the other, and beat until blended, then remove the bowl from the mixer. Add ½ cup of the blueberries and gently fold them in with a large wooden spoon or spatula. Add the rest of the berries and gently fold them in. Ladle the batter into the muffin tins, filling each hole almost to the top. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup sugar over the muffin tops, then bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are puffy and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and cool in the tins for 1 hour before serving. Gently loosen the muffins around the sides with a knife before taking them out.
From “True Blueberry” by Linda Dannenberg: published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York
Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry-Peach Compote
Serves 4 to 6
These light and lemony pancakes are the creation of Jeff Jackson, executive chef at A R Valentien, the Arts and Crafts-style dining room of the Lodge at Torrey Pines resort in La Jolla, California. The batter is very similar to a soufflé batter, with a small amount of flour and lots of eggs, the whites used to give the pancakes their loft. In fact, I used this same recipe to make individual soufflés–baked in 4-inch buttered and sugared ramekins for about 18 minutes–and they were fabulous. The blueberry-peach compote, which calls for both fresh and dried blueberries, has the intense flavor and pleasing texture of a relish.
For the blueberry-peach compote:
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup dried blueberries
2 peaches
For the lemon-ricotta pancakes:
6 large eggs, separated
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons finely-grated lemon zest
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups ricotta
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
To make the blueberry peach compote:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the fresh and dried blueberries and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from the heat and set aside. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil and lower in the peaches. Cook for several minutes, just until the skin splits. Remove and immediately plunge them into an ice-water bath. Peel the peaches, remove the pits, and working over a dish to retain the juices, cut the peaches into small chunks. Fold the peaches and the juice into the blueberry mixture. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.
To make the lemon-ricotta pancakes:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg yolks, sugar and lemon zest and mix at medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is satiny and pale yellow. Add the flour and salt and mix for 2 minutes. Add the ricotta and butter and mix until incorporated. Set aside. In another bowl, whip the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
Fold one third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Add the remaining egg white mixture and gently fold it in, working to maintain as much volume as possible.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet or griddle over high heat. When hot, reduce the heat to medium-high. Ladle the batter into the skillet, about ½ cup per pancake. Flip when the edges just start to brown and little bubbles begin to form in the pancake. Cook just until lightly browned on the other side. Add a little bit more oil as needed for each batch. Serve immediately, accompanied by the blueberry-peach compote served in a sauceboat or bowl at the table.
From “True Blueberry” by Linda Dannenberg: published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York
Blueberry-Lime Salsa
Serves 6 to 8
Spicy, sassy, and succulent, this berry salsa is a lively enhancement to grilled chicken, pork, or duck. You can make it up to a day ahead and store it, covered, in the refrigerator. When grilling chicken breast to serve with this salsa, I marinate them for about 30 minutes in lime juice, a clove of coarsely chopped garlic, and coarse salt.
1 small jalapeño
2½ cups fresh blueberries
½ small red onion
½ small red bell pepper, cored and seeded
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
½ cup loosely packed finely julienned fresh basil
⅓ cup loosely packed coarsely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the broiler. Place the jalapeño under the broiler and char on all sides. Remove, place in a brown paper bag, close, and set aside. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 2 cups of the blueberries, the onion, and red pepper. Process until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and add the lime juice and salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
Using a paper towel or rubber gloves to protect your skin if it is sensitive to hot peppers, trim the stem and peel off the skin of the jalapeño. Slice it in half, remove and discard the seeds (unless you like your salsa really hot), and finely chop the jalapeño. Add the jalapeño to the blueberry mixture, along with the basil, cilantro, the remaining ½ cup blueberries, the oil, ginger, and several turns of the pepper mill, and stir well to combine. Set aside for about 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend. Spoon a little bit over individual portions of grilled chicken, pork, or duck, and serve the rest in a bowl, passed at the table.
From “True Blueberry” by Linda Dannenberg: published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York
Last-Minute Blueberry-Raspberry Tarts
Serves 8
Prepared just before serving, this is an easy tart that makes a great impression. It can be made with other fruits as well–pears or apples work very nicely–but this is particularly delicious with berries. You can top each with a small scoop of rich vanilla ice cream, but the tart is wonderful on its own. To make four tarts, divide the recipe in half.
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into bits, plus some for greasing the baking sheet
One 17-ounce package frozen puff pastry, defrosted for 30 minutes
¾ cup sugar
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Spread the 2 pastry sheets flat, cut each into quarters, then transfer to the baking sheet. Turn up the edges of each piece ½ inch all around to form a border. Sprinkle the bottom of each piece with 1 teaspoon of the sugar. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, raspberries, and ⅓ cup of the sugar and toss gently to coat the berries. Spoon the berry mixture equally over each pastry shell. Scatter 1 tablespoon of the butter over each tart, then sprinkle the remaining sugar equally over the 8 tarts. Bake in the center of the oven for 17 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is softened and bubbly. Serve immediately.
