Blueberry Grunt {Vegan}
When I was 10, I drove with my parents across Canada for the first time. I should note, it was not my first time across Canada, I’d done that the year before, but we flew.
We had friends in Newfoundland, and two years later, we’d actually sell everything here in Vancouver, pull up stakes, and move there permanently.
I spent time at a camp on a lake up on Massey Drive, just outside of Corner Brook, canoeing, and swimming and just generally being a kid.
We were on our way home, and stopped in Halifax, and I started to feel not good. I was itchy. I had caught the chicken pox from another kid at camp, and by the time we arrived in Halifax, I was fully sick with them. Our trip home was delayed for 10 days while I had the chicken pox.
We stayed at the home of some family friends, and I remember the mom made this dessert that was specific to Nova Scotia, called Blueberry Grunt.
Wild Blueberries are pretty abundant in Nova Scotia in the summer, so they’re pretty popular in desserts. This dessert is a lot like a cobbler, but with a distinct difference, mostly in how it’s cooked: it’s boiled on the stove instead of being baked.
You make a base out of blueberries, sugar and water, and then make a basic biscuit dough and drop those into the blueberry mixture. Cover it up, let it steam for a few minutes, and voila! Blueberry Grunt!
This is my vegan version of that classic Nova Scotian dessert, though made with frozen BC Blueberries. 🙂
Blueberry Grunt
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen BC Blueberries (600 g)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 cup non dairy milk I used Oat
- 1 tbps apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, cold
Instructions
For the blueberries
- In a dutch oven with a tightly fitting lid, place the blueberries, water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring up to the boil and then reduce the heat to allow to simmer for about 10 minutes
For the biscuit dough
- While the blueberries are simmering, place the non dairy milk in a small bowl, and add the vinegar to it. Stir well and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Cut the vegan butter up into smaller pieces and add them to the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour at first with a fork or a potato masher (or a pastry cutter if you have one), and then get in there with your hands and rub the butter into the flour until the mixture is sandy.
- Add the acidified milk and mix everything together.
- Drop the biscuits by spoonfuls onto the top of the simmering blueberries, and cover tightly with a lid.
- Allow to cook for about 12-15 minutes.
- To serve, scoop up a chunk of biscuit and place it in a bowl. Top with the blueberries. Serve with ice cream if desired.
Video
@findbex A dessert from Halifax, NS: BLUEBERRY GRUNT. Full recipe via link in bio. #vegan #plantbased #canadian #halifax #novascotia #maritimes #dessert #blueberry #blueberries #recipe #foodblogger #fyp ♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) - CKay