Confession. I’m not big on eating desserts, however I do love making desserts… Really love making them. Doesn’t make sense? Best analogy is, as a doting father of four, I was never big on eating baby foods. Making them, however, one of the deepest pleasures. One of the great reasons for cooking is the hope and anticipation of the pleasure that the person for which one is cooking will experience. Another example: travelling so many years with my work, ending up in foreign cities away from my family, I would buy clothes and little nick knacks for my children. Each time, holding up the pondered item and imagining them wearing it, I would see their excited little faces. My vicarious pleasure in their expectant happiness drove me to love shopping. Natasha’s full length, pink and blue corduroy crocodile outfit from South Africa, that I made her wear to the school formal still gives her (and me) a lump in the throat.
So! Knowing that dessert is the most anticipated course for many people, we had better have a few get out of jail free dessert cards up our sleeve. Here’s my best. It’s a sauce that’s easy to make, stores well, say a week in the fridge, and is inexpensive. Pour it over ice cream, with a cake, cheesecake, mixed with fruit salad, with pastries… Whatever, it’s a winner!
INGREDIENTS
2 punnets of very fresh blueberries
1 very juicy, in season orange, well washed
¼ cup of white sugar. More or less according to personal taste, but start here.
METHOD
Put a quarter of the blueberries with the juice and finely grated zest of the orange and the sugar into a small stainless steel pot and bring to the boil.
As the blueberries burst, about half of them, you will notice how purple the world becomes. Take off the heat and wait 5 minutes
Add the remaining blueberries, mix thoroughly, cover and refrigerate until needed.
The point I made a moment ago about sweetness, always match your sauce to the to-be-sauced; meat, vegetable or dessert, this principle applies. So, adjust your sweetness accordingly in the recipe or simply add a little water or more sugar to this recipe.