Foraging for Berries
Working in a beautiful, remote part of Alaska during the summers lends itself to long hours of sunlight and a grueling schedule: managing a kitchen, food deliveries, recipes, nuances of guest diets, and navigating the challenges of living in a microcosm of the world with 50 other people. Every summer, I encourage the new staff to take in the natural beauty of the lodge by foraging in the tundra. Almost every month, a new species of vegetable or fruit is ripe for wild harvest.
One area yielded wild berries, and blueberries were the most prolific. Growing in the extended daylight of the Alaskan wilderness, the blueberries became incredibly sweet. Using these plump and juicy gems, we made blueberry muffins, white chocolate blueberry cheesecake, blueberry pancakes, and our blueberry champagne syrup. The syrup is delicious and keeps very well for at least a week.
Delicious Pancakes for Blueberry Champagne Syrup
As a bonus, I am providing an essential buttermilk blueberry pancake mix, but don’t let that stop you from adding your favorite ingredients to the basic pancake batter. At the lodge, I often got requests for banana and granola, strawberry/raspberry, cooked spiced apples with caramel, chocolate chips, and cherries, or Bananas Foster (bananas cooked in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg flambe with rum). So let your imagination run wild and make the pancakes you want for a special treat.
This is a special occasion breakfast. Serve with piping hot coffee, bacon, or your favorite breakfast sausage. Add a hungry companion or two, and you have the makings of a great memory.
Wash the blueberries under cold water and pick over any stems or foreign material.
Add 1 cup of blueberries to a food processor or blender.
Puree the blueberries until smooth.
Add sugar, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla to a sauce pot.
Add the champagne, pureed blueberries, and the remaining blueberries. (On this day, I used Roederer Estate Brut Rose.)
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and be careful when heating so the syrup doesn’t overflow the pot. Cook for 3 minutes and remove from heat.
Blueberry Champagne Syrup!
For the Pancakes: Add all of the dry ingredients.
Melt the butter.
Add the wet ingredients.
Whisk together the batter.
The batter is ready when the ingredients are well incorporated. If it is too thick, add a little more buttermilk. The batter should not be runny but soft.
Use a 1/3 cup measure for each pancake. Oil the scoop inside and out, and the pancake batter will not stick.
Pour one scoop of the batter over a hot griddle prepped with butter or vegetable oil. Use the bottom of the scoop to spread the pancake batter into a uniform shape. If the shape isn’t a perfect circle, don’t sweat; it will still taste delicious. Here, the pancake is almost ready to flip, and the bottom edge looks close to being done.
Flip the pancake over and cook until done. Add a touch of extra butter to the grill before each new pancake.
Extra syrup never hurt a good pancake.
Deep blue deliciousness!
Wine pairings: Sparkling Rose, 2017, Trentino and Alto Adige in Northern Italy; Prosecco, 2017, Traviso, Italy
Blueberry Champagne Syrup
Equipment
- wire whisk
- mixing bowl
- non stick skillet or griddle
- food processor or blender
- non stick spatula
- measuring cups and spoons
- saucepan
Ingredients
Blueberry Champagne Syrup
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh
- 1 cup blueberry puree
- 1 cup champagne or sparkling wine
- ½ cup sugar, granulate/caster
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon, ground
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Basic Buttermilk Blueberry Pancake Batter
- 2 cups flour, All-purpose
- 2 whole eggs, lightly whisked
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tbsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup blueberries, fresh
Instructions
Blueberry Champagne Syrup
- Add one cup of fresh blueberries to a blender. Process on medium speed until smooth.
- Add the sugar, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, 1 cup of blueberry puree, 1 cup of fresh blueberries, and the champagne to a medium pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Avoid letting the syrup overflow the pot. Add the vanilla and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Pour the syrup into a clean container and allow it to cool. Place a lid on the container and put into the refrigerator to keep cold for use. The syrup should last at least a week.
Basic Buttermilk Blueberry Pancake Batter
- Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Using a whisk, combine the ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan on the range over medium heat until just melted. Remove from the heat and reserve.
- Add the buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. If the batter is too thick, thin with more buttermilk. (Because this is a homemade batter, it will be thicker than the commercially available mixes)
- Use the buttermilk pancake mix as you would any other at this point. Pour ⅓ cup of the batter onto a well-buttered, non-stick pan or grill. TIP-(Spray your measuring scoop with vegetable oil to prevent the batter from sticking to the scoop). Using the ⅓ measure, spread the batter out in a circle.
- Drop a few fresh blueberries (optional) into the batter and cook over medium heat until the edges have set. Flip the pancake with a nonstick spatula and cook on the other side. Once the pancake is done, remove it from heat and repeat the process. You can, if you wish, make several pancakes at a time. It depends on the size of your pan or grill.
- Serve with extra butter and the syrup of your choice.
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