Punnets of deep blue awaited me at Trevor's. No, not blueberries, but Saskatoon berries.Little, midnight blue and bursting with flavour, Saskatoon berries are a fleeting summertime treat. A fleeting summertime treat made even moreso as I'm not in Saskatchewan.
My Most Marvelous Manager told me about them ages ago--they sounded wonderful, but I thought I'd never see them here.
Never say never.
I was so happy to find them at Herrle's last year. A couple of punnets came home with me and I spent a week making muffins, tarts and sauces followed. I could see why MMM remembered them fondly.
This year's punnet would still be used for baking, but I wanted to play with the savoury side of these berries. With summer's heat upon us, a salad seemed to be the way to go.
I don't know if people usually complement these berries with arugula and goat cheese, but they were the first things to come to mind. Add some thinly sliced red onion (or shallots) and toasted almonds, and it all worked so very nicely--bitter pepperyness from the greens against the sweet berries, tangy cheese, sharp onions, crunchy nuts and the sweet and sour vinaigrette easily came together for a lovely summer salad.
Like many salads I make, this is a non-recipe recipe. Add as much or as little of each ingredient as you like. Serve on its own or with grilled chicken or a some poached or seared white fleshed fish.
Saskatoon Berry, Arugula and Goat Cheese SaladArugula
Soft goat cheese
Saskatoon berries
Thinly sliced onions
Toasted almond flakes
Balsamic vinaigrette
cheers!
jasmine
4 comments:
Saskatoons should be ready. My friend picks tons of them on her property so it's time to ask.
I've never heard of saskatoon berries! I just like the sound of saying "saskatoon". I found ground cherries at my farmer's market this past weekend. I open up my fridge and look and wonder what to make of them. I think for something uncommon, enjoying it in a very natural form, such as a salad, is a great idea.
I have never even heard of saskatoon berries until now! They sound amazing. I can't wait to try them. Hopefully I can find them at the farmers market when I drive toward Everett again or can you only get them in Canada?
Hi Mikaela
Other names for saskatoons are serviceberries, sarvisberries and juneberries. According to Wikipedia, they are grown anywhere from Alaska to the western and north central US.
If you can't find them, blueberries are a good substitute for this salad.
j
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