America’s chefs share recipes using season’s blueberry crop

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Editor’s Note: The Wild Blueberry Association of North America, with headquarters in Bar Harbor, collected the following blueberry recipes from chefs around the United States.

Chilled Blueberry Soup

6 medium apples peeled, cored, cut into chunks

3/4 cup lemon juice 1 1/2 cups white wine or apple juice

3/8 cup honey (liquid) 4 cups low-fat plain yogurt 1 1/2 cups sour cream

Topping: 1 1/2 cups sour cream 3 tablespoons lemon juice 6 tablespoons horseradish

Puree wild blueberries, apples, lemon juice, wine or apple juice, and honey in batches, using blender or food processor and strain. Add four cups yogurt and 1 1/2 cups sour cream, blend for a few seconds, and then chill. Combine topping ingredients and chill. Serve soup in chilled bowls, topped with a tablespoon of sour cream-horseradish mixture. Yield: 12 one-cup servings.

Wild Blueberry Nut Bread

9 cups (3 pounds) all-purpose flour pre-sifted 1 tablespoon salt 4 tablespoons baking powder 41/3 cups (1 pound, 5 ounces) wild blueberries (fresh or frozen) 1 1/2 cups (5 ounces) pecan pieces 6 large eggs (or 10 ounces egg substitute), well-beaten 3 cups (1 pound, 5 ounces) sugar 3 cups milk 1 cup (8 ounces) butter, melted

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a 20-quart bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons to dredge berries. Combine blueberries and pecan pieces and dust with reserved flour. Set aside.

Beat eggs and sugar together. Add milk and melted butter and mix well. Pour into flour mixture and stir on low speed just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in wild blueberries and nuts. Spoon into greased and floured pans, filling only half full. Bake at 350 degrees F. until cake tester comes out clean (about 45 minutes). If desired, grated orange or lemon rind or spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, etc.) may be added to the dry ingredients. Yield: 3 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaves — 48 portions.

Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake (Joyce Sousa, Matt Garret’s Restaurant, Brookline, Mass.)

2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated preferred) 1 1/2 cups Maine wild blueberries 2 brown eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled 2 tablespoons sugar for top

Sift and combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add blueberries. In another bowl, beat eggs, milk and melted butter. Combine milk mixture with the dry ingredients. Stir until blended. Put half batter in a greased and floured 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle streusel (recipe follows) over batter. Spread remaining batter over streusel and top with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 35 minutes. Test with knife tip in center. Cool before cutting. Yield: 16 pieces.

Streusel mixture:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/3 cup cold butter

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until uniformly crumbly, add nuts. Sprinkle mixture over top of coffeecake before baking.

Sage-Seasoned Lamb with Wild Blueberry Sauce (Chef Michael V. Guercio, Doubletree Hotel, San Diego, Calif.)

For the lamb: 4 1/2 pounds lamb sirloin, boneless

3/4 bunch sage leaves, cut into chiffonade 4 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced 4 1/2 tablespoons shallots, minced Olive oil (to coat) 2-3 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper Lemon juice (from 1 1/2 lemons)

For the sauce: 3 ounces butter 4 1/2 tablespoons shallots, minced 3 tablespoons thyme leaves, minced 1 1/2 cups vintage port 1 1/2 cups Maine wild blueberries, fresh or frozen 4 1/2 cups demiglace

For the ragout: 2 1/4 pounds shiitake mushrooms, julienned 3 ounces butter 3 tablespoons shallots, minced Pinch of salt

Rub the lamb sirloin with garlic, sage, shallots, black pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grill to internal temperature of 120 degrees F. and hold.

For the sauce, saute shallots in butter, add thyme leaves, deglaze with port, reduce three-quarters volume. Add berries with juice. Crush berries lightly. Add demiglace and boil, then simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

For the ragout, saute mushrooms and shallots in butter lightly. Season with salt. For accompaniment, white beans with garlic and herbs and fresh vegetables. Serve sliced lamb over the cooked white beans, spoon on mushrooms, brush with sauce.