A straightforward recipe for blueberries and dumplings offers a delightful dessert option using seasonal fruit. This dish can be easily prepared over a campfire, adding a touch of summer charm to the cooking experience.
To begin, cookbook author Christine Flynn recommends some preliminary steps before heading out: combine the blueberry filling ingredients in a sturdy cast iron skillet or Dutch oven and prepare the dumpling batter separately. Cooking involves simmering the berries gently over a low flame, adding the dumplings, and covering the skillet with a lid or foil as outlined in the recipe.
Flynn advises monitoring the fire carefully, emphasizing that part of the enjoyment of campfire cooking is tending to the flames. While known as blueberry grunt on the East Coast, Flynn acknowledges the somewhat unexciting name but encourages readers not to be put off by it. She shares the complete recipe from her latest cookbook, “Easy Does It.”
Titled “Jammy blueberries with lemon dumplings,” the recipe reflects Flynn’s background in Nova Scotia and the UK, where she noticed that delicious dishes sometimes come with peculiar names. Despite the unconventional monikers, such as toad in the hole or bubble and squeak, Flynn believes that the taste should not be overshadowed by the names. The dessert can be enjoyed during summer with fresh blueberries or in winter using frozen ones for a comforting family meal.
Although intended as a dessert, this dish also makes a delightful breakfast, especially when whipped up during the peak blueberry season over a campfire.
For the Blueberry Filling, you will need fresh or frozen blueberries, sugar, cinnamon, water, salt, and lemon juice. The Dumplings call for all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, lemon zest, milk, and melted butter. To serve, pair the dish with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup.
The preparation involves cooking the Blueberry Filling in a Dutch oven before mixing up the Dumplings and dropping spoonfuls into the simmering blueberries. Cover and let steam until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
This recipe serves 6 to 8 and is from Christine Flynn’s book “Easy Does It,” with photography by Suech and Beck, published by Penguin Canada.