The humble little blueberry, poor cousin to the brilliant raspberry and ubiquitous strawberry, has been labelled a superfood for its anti-ageing, brain-boosting and cholesterol-lowering effects. It topped a US Department of Agriculture table of 40 health-giving fruit and vegetables, presumably for its high antioxidant content.
A handful of blueberries can provide as many antioxidants as five servings of carrots, apples or the saintly but boring broccoli. This clearly behoves us to shovel a few more of the little blighters into our mouths whenever we can, so here are some ideas:
Add them to smoothies and shakes; cook them into a compote to serve with strong English cheeses; chuck them into cakes and muffins; toss them into puddings, crumbles and cobblers; add them to sweet breads; and use them to top cheesecakes and lemon tarts. Swirl them into creamy yoghurt fools, or strew them over pancakes, waffles and French toast. Or just rinse, refrigerate, and eat them out of your hand when you get the munchies.
Here, they combine with couscous, that most elegant of comfort foods, in a sweet, fragrant, fruity dessert. Serve with a glass of sweet, creamy almond milk to moisten the couscous — and make sure you use any leftover almond milk on your breakfast porridge or cereal in the morning, along with a handful of blueberries, of course.
Ingredients
Serves 4
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Prep: 20 min plus soaking
300g instant couscous
2 tbsp icing sugar
500ml boiling water
1 tsp rose water or orange blossom water
100g blueberries
100g raspberries
2 tbsp pistachio nuts, lightly crushed
For the almond milk
100g ground almonds
half tsp ground cinnamon
2tbsp icing sugar
500ml milk
METHOD: To make the sweet almond milk combine the almonds, cinnamon, icing sugar and milk in a blender and whiz until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, store in a bottle and chill.
Place the couscous and icing sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the top, stir, cover, and leave for 30 minutes to absorb. Break up the lumps in the couscous with your fingers, and fluff it up a bit. Add the rose water and berries and lightly toss.
Serve the couscous in four small bowls and scatter with pistachios. Shake the bottle of almond milk until frothy, pour into four small chilled glasses and serve.