Though we can now find berries year-round at the grocery store, nothing compares to a sun-ripened, local summer berry fresh from the garden or field. Berry season is short which makes the fruits all the sweeter. Strawberries have the shortest season, typically only ripe from mid-June through early July with seasons sometimes cut short by rainy weather. Blueberries linger a little longer, beginning to ripen in late July and lasting through August. Raspberries and black currants enjoy the longest season with summer-bearing varieties starting in July and fall-bearing varieties coming in just as soon as the summer berries are done, keeping us satisfied well into September. This season, we’ve got five recipes that will help you get outside the berry box and cook something new.
Raspberry Cucumber Agua Fresca
There is nothing more refreshing in summer than a cool glass of agua fresca! We love sweetening ours with summer berries, which also add a beautiful bright color to the final beverage.
Cardamom Dutch Baby with Blueberry Compote
I love recipes that teach a new concept or demonstrate a new technique. This dish is great for its delicious introduction to quick-cooking fruit compotes and delightfully poofy baked goods (think popovers and Yorkshire pudding). A Dutch baby is essentially a large fluffy pancake that can be made sweet or savory. The full recipe is incredibly simple, but leaves an impression with versatile skills that can be incorporated into many recipes and many summer fruits.
Strawberry Nuoc Cham with Pork Chops
Strawberry season in southern Wisconsin is short, but I make it feel longer by incorporating strawberries into far more than just dessert. My favorite thing to make with fresh, in-season strawberries is a nouc cham. This Vietnamese-inspired sauce is lovely with simple marinated and grilled local pork chops. It’s easy to make, refreshing and a perfect accompaniment on a summer’s day.
Berry Beet Salad
The more colors I can get onto my summer tables, the better. I love the way the colors of this salad play off one another. Seek out bunches of mixed variety beets or a few Chioggia beets, like ‘Badger Flame,’ and a classic red to make the most of this colorful, sweet summer salad.
Wild Mushroom & Blueberry Toast
This recipe came to be after a good friend gifted me some beautiful fresh, foraged chanterelles just as wild blueberries were beginning to come into season. To me, the best food occurs in those magic, fleeting moments when time, place and people converge in a seemingly perfect way, and this toast is a perfect example of that. I even made this for a first date, and if the fact that we're still together is any indication of its deliciousness, then I rest my case. If you can't find chanterelles, don't fret, any mushroom you like will be tasty! Also you can make the pickled blueberries ahead of time, and there will be plenty of extras that can be thrown in a salad or on a picnic board.
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