Saturday, June 14, 2014

Fresh Blackberry and Goat Cheese Dip

My inner hunter/gatherer has come out the past couple of weeks.   The wild Blackberries are ripe and I've been picking them wherever I find them.
 
I picked the first batch on the little lot beside my house, and managed to pick enough to make a blackberry pie, which I, umm, inhaled, over the course of a weekend.   It wasn't one of my better efforts, but it tasted so good, especially since I'd picked the berries. 
I kept my eye out for more on my walks and gee, guess what, there were lots and lots and lots more.  So I picked them every couple of days and started freezing them.  I wasn't able to get a lot at a time, maybe a cup or so, but they add up.  I'm planning on making some blackberry jelly soon. 
And yesterday, I picked even more.  It also happened to be Friday and the night I get together with some ladies.  I wanted to make something with the blackberries that didn't include heating an oven. 
So I looked in the fridge, and found goat cheese.  Just one of those items I stock up on when I get to the big city.   And since I had some lemons out, I wondered how it would taste if I put some blackberries, lemon juice and goat cheese together. The reason for the lemon juice?  It brings out the essential blackberry flavour of the juice. 
 
And it was good.  I made a little test bowl first.  I squished up some of the blackberries, and put them through a sieve to get the juice and then added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a scant teaspoon of sugar to it.  Cut a little piece of goat cheese off, added a little of the blackberry juice to it, and mixed it up.
When I tasted it, I decided that it was pretty darn good.
So I added the juice to the goat cheese and mixed it together.
Forks work so well with this.   I didn't bother softening the cheese first, but you can if you want.  Goat cheese is pretty crumbly anyway.  
When I was done, I folded some whole blackberries into it, and sprinkled more on top.  I served it with some graham crackers, but at NPA I tried it with some pretzel chips and it was really good with them as well.  
I have some more ideas on what I can do with this idea next.  Maybe pipe it into some phyllo cups and decorate it with a big ol' berry on top or maybe as a filling in a layer cake, or...

So many possibilities.

Recipe:
3 oz. Goat Cheese
2-4 tablespoons Fresh Blackberry Juice (to taste)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons sugar (to taste)
1/2 cup whole Blackberries 

Mix the first four ingredients together til smooth.  You want this to be dip consistency. 
Fold in the most of the blackberries reserving a few for garnish.  
Serve with some graham crackers or pretzel crackers. 

And because I'm freaky scared of snakes and some of the blackberries sat tantalizing me, just out of reach, I finally broke down and bought some Panacea Nikes, cause I had to push my way into the bush a little and I wanted my toes protected, from the snakes.
I'm set to go now.  Anyone know where there are more blackberry bushes?  Just so long as there aren't any yellow flies around, I'm ready when you are.





Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

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