Fresh Blueberry Compote

It’s blueberry season! Every year I go to a local orchard and pick pounds and pounds of blueberries. I keep some to use fresh and freeze the rest. It’s definitely quite the workout but for the price you pay for so many blueberries, it’s totally worth it. So, I hope you like blueberries because I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes that I make every year with the blueberries I pick! First up: blueberry compote.

I usually make blueberry compote with blueberries that I have frozen, but since I wanted to make this immediately after picking them, they weren’t frozen yet. So instead, I made it with fresh blueberries. I can assure you that this fresh blueberry compote recipe is just as good as one made using frozen berries. It’s the perfect topping for almost anything… crêpes, pancakes, ice cream. The list goes on and on.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of blueberries
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tsp of lemon zest
• Juice from half of a lemon

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized pot, bring water, sugar and zest to a boil over medium-high heat. Make sure to stir with a whisk every so often so the sugar dissolves completely. Allow this to boil for about 5 minutes.
2. After about 5 minutes, remove the zest. This can be done by pouring the contents of the pot through a fine mesh strainer, and into a heat-resistant bowl. Return the water/sugar mixture to the pot.
3. Over medium-high heat, add the blueberries to the pot and bring to boil. The water will begin to turn red and you will notice the blueberries begin to burst.
4. Add the lemon juice to the pot and stir. At this point, I like to lightly mash up some of the blueberries with the back of the spoon or a potato masher.
5. Continue to simmer the blueberries over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pot are reduced by about half (this will typically take anywhere from 10-15 minutes, but be sure to keep an eye on the pot).
6. Once reduced by half, remove from heat and allow the compote to cool slightly. You will notice that it thickens quite a bit once it begins to cool.
7. Enjoy at room temperature, chilled or slightly warmed!

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