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Blueberry season is open in Norway! This year is proving to be one of the best years for blueberries, with warm weather and plenty of rain recently, the blueberries are ripe and ready to pick.
It's no secret that Scandinavians love berries and blueberries are always available to be picked throughout the autumn in the forests and woods. It's a bit of a national pastime to go on a "bærtur" in the woods on a Sunday, but luckily there are more than enough blueberries for everyone.
Wood sorrel and blueberries are two plants that one frequently finds growing beside each other in the forests in Scandinavia and although I cook with wood sorrel in savoury dishes I have been really keen to use it more in sweet dishes. It's an attractive and low lying plant that comes into leaf very early in the year and stays in leaf throughout the summer and autumn.
The leaves are remarkably similar to clover, but a lovely purple on the undersides. It usually grows in abundance so picking a few leaves won't affect the plants. The flavour is like a slightly sharp apple but with a delicious freshness that pairs. There is a word of caution though. It contain oxalic acid which in large quantities can be rather bad for your liver. In the amounts that one generally uses for cooking it's absolutely fine, but it's not a plant you would usually dry or preserve in any other way than freezing.
So let's bake!
Blueberry Muffins with Wood Sorrel Streusel, makes 12 large muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
170g / 6 oz butter
85g / 3oz white sugar
85g / 3oz brown sugar
170g / 6 oz flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
150g / 5.3 oz fresh or frozen blueberries
Streusel
55g / 2oz brown sugar
85g / 3 oz butter
55g / 20z flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons oats
1 tablespoon chopped wood sorrel
Method
To make the streusel topping put all the ingredients except the wood sorrel into a food processor and pulse until the butter is broken up but not completely mixed in. Turn out into a bowl and stir in chopped sorrel.
Preheat the oven to 180C / 360F
Cream together the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time and beating well after adding each one. Fold in the flour and baking powder and carefully stir into a smooth batter. Add the blueberries and stir together once more until mixed. Divide the batter between 12 large muffin cases and sprinkle the streusel topping on the top of each one. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the muffins are a light golden brown and rebound when you give them a light touch. Cool on a wire rack.
These muffins keep very well for several days and, in my opinion, are better the following day.
Vær så god!
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