Ingredients:
1kg blueberries (fresh or frozen), washed
¼ cup raw sugar
1 Lemon, washed
1 Vanilla pod (or 1 Tbsp vanilla powder, or 1tsp vanilla essence)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180⁰c.
Put all the blueberries into a roasting dish and sprinkle with sugar.
Peel the lemon using a potato peeler/pairing knife being careful to avoid pith and to keep large lengths of zest. Bitter flavours are accentuated in dehydrating so the less pith the better. Add zest and the juice of the lemon to the pan.
Press vanilla pod with knife handle to bruise it slightly and then half it and scrape out the seeds and add to the pan along with the empty pod.
Roast until fruit is slightly caramelised, at least half an hour.
Remove empty vanilla pod and Lemon zest (you can leave some zest in for a lemony flavour, but remember that bitter flavours are accentuated, so do so sparingly, I never leave more than 2 pieces).
Using a stab mixer/food processor blend until smooth and then spread carefully over a dehydrator sheet.
I dehydrate on high for 10 hours in a biochef, but every model is different. Leave in your machine until fully dry. If your leather goes brittle leave it at room temperature for a day or two and it will settle so it can be rolled and cut into strips.
Will keep for 12 months at room temperature in an air tight container. Enjoy as a snack, sprinkle on porridge while out bush for a charming hiking breakfast, or wrap in compostable baking paper and give as gifts to your bushwalking friends.
Sapphire and Sommelier 