Savory Balsamic Blueberry Sauce is a perfect accompaniment for either chicken or pork. It’s an easy recipe that incorporates all those beautiful blueberries that are readily available in the summer.
Truth be known, one of my favorite thing to eat are berries. All kinds of berries. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and the lovely blueberries. Blueberries, however, are my favorite. They are packed with all kinds of nutrients with minimal calories, they provide all kinds of health benefits which qualifies them as a superfood. I eat blueberries a few times a week and make all kinds of goodies with them. Muffins, jam and I even dry them to add to my homemade granola.
A few weeks ago, I was thinking of savory dishes to make with Blueberries and I thought since I like balsamic vinegar on my salads (they always have a few blueberries sprinkled on top), that it would be a good combination for some type of sauce for either chicken or pork. I also knew that in order to make it savory, I would need to add some milder shallots, a little garlic and a robust herb from my garden which happened to be rosemary. That’s how I came up with Savory Balsamic Blueberry Sauce. It turned out terrific and I have probably made it 3 times and served it once to a guest. It’s really a quick and easy accompaniment for chicken or pork for an easy weeknight meal and it’s pretty enough to serve for a dinner party. Trust me on this one. It’s an absolutely wonderful sauce. Give it a try!
While I had savory blueberries dishes on my mind. I thought it would be fun to include some recipes from other bloggers that have incorporated blueberries in their savory dishes. All these happen to be salads since that is what popped up, but nonetheless all great ideas. Check these out!
Kristine’s Kitchen has a beautiful broccoli and blueberry salad.
Wholesome Yum posted a healthy, gluten-free spring mix salad with blueberries and goat cheese.
Happy Kitchen Rocks made a beautiful watermelon, blueberry, and feta salad
Of course, we can forget my Grilled Honey Mustard Coho Salmon salad with blueberries. Delish..
On another note and something neat about living in Colorado. Wildlife in your front yard! Usually, the hawks perch themselves high up in the cottonwood tree in front of my house. The other evening, this Kestrel Hawk decided that the street sign (literally 25 feet from my patio) would be a good place to find dinner. I was mesmerized watching him look, listen and squawk a bit while he was surveying my garden. He sat there for a good 20 minutes while he let me take his picture. I was thrilled with the images that I captured. I never realized how impressive these hawks are until I got up close and personal with him. I’m sure that you will agree. Pretty neat!
Enjoy!
A male Kestrel Hawk. I’m not sure that he has any other look than “fierce”. This guy is on a mission…
This guy is just magnificent! Just watching him look and listen was quite remarkable. Oh, he got a mouse out of my garden.
Savory Balsamic Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
For the Balsamic Blueberry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced shallots
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
For the Chicken or Pork
- 2 pounds Chicken breast, Pork tenderloin or pork loin chops
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- minced fresh rosemary if desired
Instructions
For the Chicken or Pork
- Coat the chicken or pork with olive oil and liberally sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary if you are using.
- 2 ways of cooking: You can either grill your choice of meat. Chicken cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees or pork to 145 degrees. You can also brown on all sides in a large saute pan and set aside to finish cooking.
For the Balsamic Blueberry Sauce
- In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots, garlic, and rosemary and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the honey, salt, pepper and, blueberries. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or so until the blueberries begin to soften and the sauce begins to reduce. (if using the browned meat version, add the meat to the pan at this point).
- Add the remaining one tablespoon of butter and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Serve the sauce hot over either chicken or pork.