We have had some lovely days here in Shetland lately. The sun’s been shining and it’s actually been warm. The midges have even been out in force, which must indicate some serious summeriness. It has left me wanting more (perhaps less of the midges though). I would love for the summer to go on for a while and get really hot and beachy. But I don’t think that Shetland would be Shetland if it did.
I’ve often wondered how much the weather influences the character and culture of a place. I bet if Shetland were warmer and the days longer in the winter time there wouldn’t be as many unbelievable musicians or amazing music here, and I bet there wouldn’t be as rich a folk lore. I think that long nights in front of a peat fire probably lend themselves to such things.
With school going back this last week, and the days already growing shorter, I can sense the return of those cozy peat fire nights. But for now it’s still summer, so I decided that while I still justifiably can, I would make something really summery. Frozen yogurt!
I’ve only recently started making frozen yogurt as I used to think that it was impossible to make unless you had an ice cream maker. This, I was delighted to find, is not the case at all.
I love yogurt and eat loads of it. I even make it sometimes, though I keep letting my culture die off and then have to start over again. But that’s another story.
I remember as a kid going to the mall and there was this chain of places called Yogen fruz (out of curiosity I just looked it up and it still exists! They seem to have branched out into green smoothies and granola and stuff too.). We used to go there some times and I’d always get the strawberry frozen yogurt. It was gorgeous. Recently I was on Pinterest (I seem to mention Pinterest quite a lot… perhaps my internet trawling could use a little more trimming) and I found this recipe for frozen yogurt which is ridiculously simple. All you do is freeze some fruit, or just use frozen fruit to begin with, and then blend it up with some plain yogurt and a little honey. It works brilliantly, and you could make nearly any fruity flavour as simply.
Then I wondered if you could make the frozen yogurt part and then ripple some fruit through it. It worked out quite well. I decided to go for some really fresh, summery flavours; lemon and blueberry. I made the lemon yogurt first just by adding some lemon zest, honey and vanilla to plain full-fat yogurt, and then put it in the freezer. I got it out every hour or two and whisked it up to break up the ice crystals and then put it back in to freeze some more. Meanwhile I just stewed up some frozen blueberries (I used frozen just because they’re cheaper and I kind of feel that if I’m going to buy some fresh berries I want to enjoy them as they are) and once I was happy with the yogurt, I swirled it through. It’s really lovely, summery and creamy. I think this one’s a keeper. So here’s to summer, and I will not be surprised if I find myself sitting in front of a peat fire in a few months enjoying a bowl of frozen yogurt then too!
- 500g plain yogurt
- Zest of one lemon
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 75g blueberries
- 2 Tbsp water
- Whisk together the yogurt, lemon zest, honey, vanilla extract and salt. Pour it into a freezer proof container and set it in the freezer.
- After about an hour and a half remove the yogurt from the freezer and whisk it well to break up the ice crystals
- Repeat this several times until the yogurt is frozen and as creamy as possible.
- Meanwhile, put the blueberries and water in a small pan over medium-low heat. Heat it to a simmer and leave it simmering for about 20 minutes, adding a splash more water if needed, until the berries are cooked and starting to break down a bit.
- Remove from heat. Put half of the blueberries in a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Combine the cooked blueberries with the blitzed ones and leave them to cool.
- Once the yogurt is frozen and the blueberries are cool drizzle the berries over the surface of the yogurt and gently marble them through with a butter knife.
- Serve immediately if possible.