Foraged Blackberry Pie recipe
Total Time: 1 hour 25 min
not factored: Foraging time
prep time: 15 min
bake time: 45 min
cool time: 20 min
Berries prep:
It's fall here on the west coast, so blackberries are ripe and ready to pick! once you pick your berries (goal is between 3-5 cups worth) go home and thoroughly rinse 2-3 times and once with 1-3 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
Optional: overnight soak, makes all the little extra buggies come out and you don't have to eat them, even though they are a source of protein. Once they have soaked, the tiny bugs will float to the top and you can just use a spoon to take them out. A strainer won't get all the bugs out.
Ingredients & measurements:
Crusts (× 2)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp of salt
stevia* (1 TSP) or sugar
1 cup of coconut oil* or butter ( 1:1 ratio)
2 egg whites (optional but highly recommended for binding purposes)
1/4 cup of water
Filling:
5 cups of blackberries
1/4 cup of all purpose flour or *almond flour
1/2 TBSP coconut oil
1 TSP of stevia* or 1/4 cup of sugar
1 TSP of cinnamon
optional:
3-4 drops of vanilla and or 5-7 vanilla liquid stevia
and 1 TBSP of a squeezed lemon and 1/2 tsp zest.
other berries: blueberries, raspberries, etc.
cover edges of crust for the first 30 minutes to avoid burnt crusts.
Directions:
NOTES:
Firstly, you need to go and pick your berries! Its best to pick further away from the road as the daily exposure to car exhaust, traffic, etc. affects the taste and quality of the berries. It is also important to note that blackberries, at least on the pacific coast, are ripening early to mid-fall (September- early November). Lastly, the sweetest blackberries are always the tenderest, darkest, and juiciest and can vary in size.
1. Collect berries and rinse thoroughly, or soak over night (see details in berries prep above).
2. Use two separate large mixing bowls: one for the wet ingredients of the filling and one for the dry.
3. With one bowl add blackberries (optional: add lemon zest, liquid stevia, and/or vanilla, or other berries) and lightly mix with a fork.
4. With the other bowl add the sugar, flour and cinnamon and mix .
5. Use a medium saucepan or pot to add wet ingredients and put on simmer (also now you should add the coconut oil).
6. It is important to mix (preferably with a wooden cooking spoon consistently as the blackberries can burn to the bottom of the pan or pot when unattended.
7. Once blackberries are simmering, add dry ingredients while mixing .
8. Keep mixing until the texture of the filling becomes somewhat viscous (at least 5 min).
9. Turn off stove and let filling cool
10. Preheat oven to 425 F
11. Time for the Crust! It's best to do this after the filling for freshness of the crust. I'd recommend having a clear/previously cleaned countertop and grab a palm-sized (or 1/2 cup) of the all purpose flour and sprinkle it across the countertop evenly.
12. In a mixing bowl add the 2 cups of all purpose flour, salt and sugar if you aren't using stevia, and mix.
13. Melt the cup of coconut oil or butter and add with the water and egg white to the mixed flour, salt, and sugar ( if using liquid stevia, add at this time as well).
14. Mix with hands until clearly bonded and not sticking to the mixing bowl. Make sure not to over knead it as the crust won't stretch as it should.
15. Place the dough on the countertop and use a rolling pin to evenly spread the crust into the shape of your pie tin.
16. Get a pie tin out and lightly glaze with coconut oil and place the dough in the pie tin and compact into the grooves of the pie tin evenly.
17. Now pour the filling and spread evenly into the pie tin.
18. With the remaining dough, if needed roll dough to just slightly bigger than the pie tin and place over pie.
19. Optional: with the remaining dough, you can use cookie cutter shapes and shape it and place over the crust.
20. Pinch the bottom crust to the top and add egg white around crust to keep it from burning.
21. Place pie in oven for 45 min.
22. Be sure the top crust is golden brown before taking pie out to cool for 15 min and you got yourself a blackberry pie!
*= healthier alternatives