Typically, grocery store blackberries are too sour but are treated like prized jewels, packed in little cushioned boxes at 4.99 apiece. Better—and cheaper—summer berries will soon be available at local “pick your own” farms. Check out the link above to the The Washington Post’s Weekend section for a list of farms in the Metro area. There's also a harvest calendar showing peak seasons for such summer delights as sweet corn, peaches and true tomatoes.
When you go, you’ll pick far more berries than you can possibly eat. Give some to your neighbors and use the rest for a blackberry cobbler. This recipe from Edna Lewis’ The Taste of County Cooking (1983) calls for 5 cups of blackberries—suggestive of the open-handed abundance of “pick your own” farms.
Ingredients:
For the Pastry--
1/ 2 cup crushed cube sugar
2 cups of flour (I use a whole wheat pastry flour)
½ teaspoon salt
½ cold butter
1/3 cup iced water
¼ cup light cream
For the Filling--
5 cups blackberries
¾ cup crushed cube sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
To crush the sugar, put a small handful of cubes in a large “zip lock” bag, press out the air and seal. Place the bag in a folded tea towel and give it a few good whacks with a rolling pin to break the cubes into chunks, then roll into finer crumbs. Though it seems like a lot of bother, the rough sugar makes a tastier, “crumbly” cobbler crust.
Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with two knives until well-blended. Add the iced water and quickly stir the flour mixture into a stiff dough. Divide into two equal portions, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for a few minutes.
On a lightly floured board, roll out one dough portion to line the bottom of an 8 x 8 Pyrex dish. Sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons of the course sugar. Cover with plastic wrap while you roll out the second dough portion for the top. Place that in the dish, cover and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cobbler.
Gently wash and pat the berries dry and put them in a large ceramic or glass bowl. Mix ¾ cup of course sugar with the cornstarch and nutmeg, then toss into the berries. The fruit should have a wonderful “grapey” color and sort of smell as if it is fermenting. Watch out! The juice will leave a stain that’s impossible to wash, so wear a old t-shirt.
To bake the cobbler, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Take the dough from the refrigerator and remove the top layer. Fill the pastry-lined dish with the berry mixture, then dot with butter. Top with the second dough portion, brush heavily with cream and cover with the remaining sugar. Place the cobbler in the preheated over and immediately reduce the heat to 425. Bake for 45 minutes and remove when top is golden brown. Let the cobbler sit and cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with ½ cup of cream that has been whipped and slightly sweetened with a tablespoon of sugar and a ½ teaspoon of vanilla. Makes 6 to 8 generous portions.
