What to do with a fridge full of blueberries and soon-to-expire yoghurt?
Our household is smoothie mad and more often than not, it’s the go-to each morning for breakfast. For some reason that has switched to eggs, over to muesli, flip flopped to toast…you get the picture. Not only was my shopping list a little out of whack, my organized stash of natural yoghurt had been pushed further and further to the back of fridge.
When I realised there wasn’t just one pot but two litres of yoghurt with best before dates about to expire I was on a mission to salvage the lot. Combined with my successful PYO blueberry exploration some weeks ago I decided to try my hand at frozen yoghurt. Simple you say? Hmmm in theory yes, but in actuality, not!
Therefore I present to you a couple of recipes I trialed and you can decide for yourself what suits you best!
Two options, lucky you!
Natural & Nice-y Blueberry Frozen Yoghurt
- 500g fresh (or frozen) blueberries, approx 3 cups
- 500g natural yoghurt, approx 2 cups
- 2 Tbsp liquid honey
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
De-stalk the blueberries. Wash away the bloom (easy to do in bulk by grabbing a handful of blueberries and rubbing them with wet palms, as if you are lathering up soap). Weigh or measure, then add to a food processor with the other ingredients to blitz well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients get blended well and if necessary, process in batches. Freeze.
My comments: This method was simple and used the whole fruit. I didn’t want to use an ice cream maker as that just isn’t practical for most people, so was relying solely on the freezer an airtight container to do the work. It froze into a giant ice-cube! After 15 mins thawing on the bench it was easier to carve away chunks but certainly wasn’t ‘scoop-able’ in the traditional sense. Thrown through a blender before serving it worked a treat though. Delicious and refreshing it had an subtle rough-icy texture (this was the skin), but certainly not the creamy frozen yoghurt texture I had hoped for personally.
Naughty & Creamy Blueberry Frozen Yoghurt
- 3 cups blueberries
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice (or one large juicy lemon)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
- 1/2 cup cream
Firstly add blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, salt and cinnamon into a saucepan. Heat well and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so until fruit is soft. Stir during the process to ensure the sugar has dissolved and the juices of the fruit have extracted. Using a potato masher or a stick blender, give the contents a good blitzing. Remove from heat, strain through a sieve, retaining the juice and discarding the pulp. The concentrated juice should render down to approximately one cup of liquid. Allow liquid to cool. Add yoghurt and cream and fold together well. Freeze.
My comments: This version contained sugar and cream, two indulgent ingredients that possibly aren’t high on the healthy list but certainly made for a smooth, refreshing frozen yoghurt. This method involved cooking the blueberries, straining the juice – a tasty recipe with no roughage! After 15mins thawing on the bench it could be scooped ready to serve ‘as is’: creamy, delicious.
In both instances you’ll need to remove from the freezer some 15 minutes before you are planning to serve it.
Rest assured, no yoghurt was wasted in the making of this dessert! I was pretty chuffed actually.
I hope you enjoy!
