Nature does things well … When there is no flower left in winter, the shiny red of wild fruit pops up right when they are needed. Full of vitamins and nutrients, thanks to the light they gathered over the summer, these berries offer a necessary support, over the winter, to the local fauna. Visible from far away (thanks to their colour), birds, foxes, rabbits, bears and other mammals are able to treat themselves to rosehips when their organisms are the most fragile.
Foraging these berries should be done sparingly and on trees with an abundance of them.
I love testing recipes with rosehips. It is possible to eat them right from the trees, to make the most of the vitamins. The little stinging hairs inside the fruits can be allergenic on the skin but do not do much to the intestines. They can also be fermented in a brine and eaten, throughout the winter, directly from the jar.
I also like to freeze them and keep them for cooking muffins! I usually cut the hips in half, with the hairs and seeds removed with a butter knife before freezing them.
Light and fruity, those muffins are delish eaten warm or cold, accompanied with yogurt.
Rosehip Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup thick yogurt
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 cups rosehips
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Enough oats for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin (or line with papers).
- Melt butter in a pot and leave to cool. Mix with eggs and yogurt in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat flour, baking powder and sugar. Add this combination to the egg mixture and gently whisk by adding the flour from the side to the center of the container.
- Add the hips and the lemon zest. Scoop the batter into the moulds and sprinkle with a tiny bit of sugar and a handful of oat flakes.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the muffins are well puffed and golden brown. Let them cool for 5 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. The muffins can be kept in a hermetic box for three days, or in the freezer.
