What To Do With All The Blackberries….

If you are lucky enough to be with us in sunny Snowdonia this September, you will find it hard to miss all the blackberries – the crop is good and there’s plenty for everyone.

So what to do with all the blackberries? You could go all nouveau cuisine and spend hours boiling and reducing for some fan dangled jus or if you’re on holiday, a good old traditional Welsh blackberry pie or a Welsh blackberry pudding could be your preferred option – they are simple, quick and absolutely delicious.

Welsh Blackberry Pie:

• Take an oven proof plate and roll enough short crust pastry to cover to the edges.
• Put 400g of your freshly picked blackberries over the pastry and sprinkle 200g of granulated sugar over the berries.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to cover the blackberries, using a fork to crimp the edges of the pastry together, trimming the edges as you go along.
• Prick the top of the pie with a fork and sprinkle a little sugar over the top. Put in a pre-heated oven (170 degrees) for 25 mins. Serve with ice cream.

Welsh Blackberry Pudding:

• Take a small white loaf and break into breadcrumbs. Pour over enough hot milk to cover the crumbs and leave to stand for 10 mins.
• Take your freshly picked blackberries (around 500g), put in a pan with a few tbsp of water and 1 tbsp of sugar and cook for 5 mins until soft.
• Take your breadcrumb mix and fluff up, add 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp sugar and mix together.
• Whisk 2 egg whites until you have stiff peaks and fold into the breadcrumb mix.
• Put blackberries into a dish and cover with the breadcrumb mix.
• Put into an oven preheated to 150 degrees until the mix ontop has set.

So, if you haven’t already, what are you waiting for, get those walking shoes on and go forth to the woods, mountains or beach and forage for blackberries and make a special treat  for the weekend.