Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

A great sauce can go a long way from taking a meal from “okay” to “wow” in short order. When company’s coming, or there’s a special occasion in the household, we don’t necessarily need to go out and spend gobs of money on the main ingredients of the celebration meal. A little spent on a fabulous sauce can turn a plain dinner into a gourmet delight.

We tried this one on a piece of steamed Arctic char. It would be equally as good on haddock or any other firm white fish. We also thought it would be an excellent accompaniment to roast pork loin, pork tenderloin or a nice pork chop.

The sauce can be made ahead and just rewarmed slightly before serving. Fresh or frozen blueberries work in this recipe and leftovers are good in a covered container in the fridge for 5 days. We adapted this from a recipe published in Canadian Living magazine.

Ingredients:

·         2 cups blueberries, divided (fresh or frozen)

·         1 cup water

·         1 tsp white sugar

·         Zest of one lemon

·         2 Tbsp finely minced red onion

·         1-1/2 cups balsamic vinegar

·         ¼ cup cold butter (cubed)

Directions:

1.       Take one cup of the blueberries and put in small saucepan. Add sugar, lemon zest, water and minced red onion.

2.       Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook until the blueberries and onion are very soft.

3.       Strain the blueberry mixture through a fine sieve, collecting the liquid that comes off. Using the back of a spoon, squish the blueberries against the strainer to extract as much of the juice as possible. Once they’re drained, discard skins and onion.

4.       Heat blueberry/onion juice until boiling. Reduce heat slightly and allow to cook until volume is approximately ½ the original amount and it is thickened. You can tell if it’s sufficiently thickened if you scrape the bottom of the saucepan with your spoon and the trace mark lets you see the pot bottom for just a moment before the sauce fills it in. Once thickened, take off the heat and set aside

.

5.       In another saucepan, heat the balsamic vinegar to a boil and allow it to reduce to half its original volume. Be aware this can be a pretty pungent, acid smell that can be a bit uncomfortable to breathe, so open a kitchen window if you can or have the exhaust fan on. The vinegar is reduced when it is thickened like step 4 and you can see the trace on the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low

6.       One at a time, add the cubes of butter into the hot vinegar and whisk until the butter is melted and incorporated into the sauce.

7.       Add the blueberry reduction from step 4 and the remaining 1 cup of blueberries. Allow the whole blueberries heat up before serving. 

Salmon Patties

Ingredients: 

1 – small can of salmon, approximately 200 g – drained, bones removed.

½ small onion, minced finely

1 egg

1/3-1/2 c bread crumbs.

Oil for frying

Directions:

1.     Mash drained salmon in a small bowl.

2.     Mix with minced onion.

3.     Add one egg, lightly beaten and mix well.

4.     Add 1/3 c of bread crumbs and mix. If the mixture is too wet, add more bread crumbs until it becomes firm enough to handle.

5.     Divide mixture into 3 small balls or 2 larger balls. Flatten into patties.

6.     In a frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Fry patties 2 minutes each side or until nicely browned.

Makes 3 “child-sized” patties or 2 “adult sized” patties.

Clam or Seafood or Fish Chowder

Ingredients:  

1-2 medium onions

4 medium to large potatoes – 2 grated; 2 diced

1 Tablespoon of oil/ fat (vegetable oil, butter, margarine, bacon fat, Crisco)

1 teaspoon of salt

Black pepper, ground

2 cans of clams (we used minced and whole baby clams)

½ c of powdered milk

Water

Optional ingredients:

1 large peeled carrot, diced

½ red or green sweet pepper, finely diced

2 ribs of celery , finely diced

2 slices of bacon, fried crisply and crumbled

½ lb of white fish

Mussels

¼ teaspoon thyme

Preparation:

1.    Chop the onions into a medium dice (1/2” pieces). If using celery, carrots or pepper,  dice them, keeping each ingredient separate.

2.       Grate two of the potatoes into a small bowl and cover with water.

3.       Dice the other potatoes into about 1 inch dice.

4.       Mix ½ cup of the milk powder with 2 cups of cold water. 

Directions:

1.       Heat oil in large flat bottom pot over medium-high heat.

2.       Add chopped onion and celery (if using). Cook until onion is soft  -- about 3 minutes.

3.       Add grated potatoes (and carrots if using). Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

4.       Add the cubed potatoes and make sure there is enough water to just cover the vegetables.

5.       Cover the pot and let it boil for about 8 minutes or until the cubed potatoes are fork tender. The broth will be slightly thickened at this point because the starch from the potatoes will have cooked out into the liquid.

6.       Add any optional vegetables you are using. If adding fish, put the fish on top of the potatoes and let steam for 2 minutes

7.       Add the 2 cups of milk and lower heat to medium. Stir occasionally until the soup heats up. Do not let it boil.

8.       When it is hot, add both cans of clams to the pot, including the juice. Stir and turn the heat off.   The clams are already cooked and if they are cooked too much, they will get rubbery and tough.  

9.       Let the flavours mingle for 2-3 minutes before serving.