Ventured out, despite the rain, to my local farmer’s market last Sunday, and I’m so glad I did. Berries are back, Babee! My two favorite purveyors are back, P&K Farms with their lovely, amazing strawberries, and Triple Delight Blueberries. Predictably, I came back with way too many berries for the hubster and me.
So, what do you do when you go crazy at the Farmer’s Market and have way too many berries? Sauce me, baby. Yep, take those berries and turn them into a sublime sauce that extends berry season into the dead of winter. It’s simple to make and so versatile. The perfect topping for ice cream and cheesecake. Drizzled on pound cake, pancakes, or waffles. As a gelee or sauce on top of Panna Cotta. YUM.
Johnny B Goode? Nah, Berry Be Good
A melange of berries, including strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, is my go-to, but blackberries and loganberries would be tasty too. This sauce can also be made with frozen berries if you are caught in a pickle and need a berry sauce. But really, at the height of berry season, buy a bunch to make sauce or jam for the rest of the year. Isn’t that why we have freezers?
Very Berry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh strawberries hulled and thinly sliced
- 6 oz 1 dry half pint fresh raspberries
- 6 oz 1 dry half pint fresh blueberries
- 6 oz 1 dry half pint fresh blackberries
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
- ¾ cup sugar
Instructions
- Combine all of the berries in a medium saucepan and stir gently to combine.
- Add the lemon juice and sugar to the berries in the sauce pan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and cook until the fruit is syrupy, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the hot berry mixture to a blender and purée until smooth or use a handheld blender to puree berries in saucepan. Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour the sauce into the strainer and use the back of a soup ladle and circular motions to force the sauce through the strainer and into the bowl. Discard the seeds that remain in the strainer. Refrigerate the berry sauce until cold or ready to serve.
- Before serving, add the reserved berries to the sauce and stir to combine. If the sauce seems too thick, add a few tablespoons of water, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached