Elder-Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

Elder-Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

I picked a copy of the Alive Magazine at my local food store and came across an article talking about the bright future of the botanical supplement market.

 

"Nearly 26,000 plants have been documented globally to have therapeutic uses—a vast store of potential medicine. Our growing desire to treat health more holistically, combined with our ability to assess the evidence critically, bodes well for a future where botanicals are integral to our well-being—a practice about as old as humanity itself."

Alive Magazine

 

The article is marked as fact-checked by the magazine which means it has been reviewed by a subject matter specialist. I’m so grateful to these publications that do the legwork and gather the evidence about the remarkable power of plants. We need more authoritative sources to share that information with friends and family who might be skeptical of the plant world potential.

 

While botanicals can be taken as supplements, I also appreciate their food-like properties and try to utilize them as such. Is ginger food or medicine? What about garlic or shitakii mushrooms?  To me, these foods are really a cross-over between both of the worlds as they are full of beneficial compounds and also taste delicious.  I love re-making recipes and coming up with an even more healthful version without sacrificing the flavour!

 

The benefits of elderberries and blueberries are many, and I like to replace the berry part of a recipe with them. It fills our diet with nutrient-dense high-in-antioxidants food and makes more resilient to whatever comes our way. Prevention is key!

 

This delicious dressing can be enjoyed on salad greens or as a dipping oil. It’s pleasantly sweet with a bit of punch from the balsamic vinegar. Shake well before use. Always consume elderberries cooked, never raw!

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup dried *elderberries

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons maple syrup or **honey

about 2/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

In a saucepan combine everything, but olive oil. Bring to boil, reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until reduced to a thicker syrup-y consistency. Remove from heat.

 

 

Strain through a fine mesh sieve to a measuring cup. Add the same amount of olive oil as you have the liquid. I got about 2/3 of a cup of the infusion so I added 2/3 of a cup of olive oil. Adjust salt and pepper and transfer to a bottle. Cap, label, keep in the fridge for a week.

 

 

*Use all or any combination of blueberries, blackberries, cherries or rosehips

**Honey gets cooked here, so don’t use your best expensive honey. Alternatively, you can omit the honey in the cooking process and add it after straining to the warm infusion.

 

Recipe adapted from the Alive magazine

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