Blackberry Pinot Noir Sauce

Hello my Hy-Vee friends!

I’ve got berries on my mind. Our produce department is a having a huge sale on all sorts of berries this week and every time I walk past the display, the wheels in my mind start turning. Sure, there are the typical ways you could use berries like putting them into cereal, adding them to smoothies and mixing them into yogurt…yawn!

One of my favorite ways to use blackberries, for example, is on pork. Blackberries and pinot noir are such a fantastic match that turning them into a sauce is simple and delicious. Follow the recipe below, pour over a grilled pork chop and you may never want to use blackberries for anything else again.

Blackberry Pinot Noir Sauce

All you need:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

12 ounce container blackberries

3/4 cup pinot noir

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

Salt and black pepper

All you do:

1. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.

2. Add the blackberries, wine, vinegar and honey; season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes.

3. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve pressing down on the fruit. Discard the solids, then return the sauce to the saucepan and season with salt and black pepper. Stir in the remaining berries and warm slightly over low heat. 

4. Serve over a grilled pork chop and enjoy!

Enjoy your berries and as always, Praise the Lard!

-Chef Alex