{All images by me}

One of my favourite things to do is foraging in the hedgerows for blackberries and then turning them into pies and other delicious things. This activity is usually associated with early autumn walks. Last September we spent a wonderful weekend in the far west of Wales exploring in the wind and rain. And then on the Sunday, the sun came out and we went for a long walk along the estury, where we found hedgerows laden with blackberries. I spent the afternoon in the cottage reducing the berries into a state suitable to take back to London.

Blackberries actually start ripening in July and the recent weather {heatwave in June – from our wedding day until a week after we returned from honeymoon – followed by alternate monsoon style rain showers and hot sunshine for the next month} seems to have been perfect for them. I don’t usually associate blackberries with central London but a chance walking through some scrubland near my house last week revealed that in fact there are plenty of berries in London, you just have to know where to look. This particular piece of land is bordered by railway lines on two sides and houses and tube stations on the other two. It doesn’t always feel the safest of places, but in the middle of the afternoon accompanied by my friend Liz, it seemed rather pleasant.

We dashed out between rain showers and spent about an hour and a half in glorious sunshine picking berries in pretty much peace and quiet {unheard of usually in central London} accompanied by the occasional passing of trains behind the fence. After picking most of the ripe ones that we could reach we headed home and I turned my share {about a kilo of berries} into blackberry and apple pie and blackberry compote.

A day or so later I walked the other way from our flat and discovered a plum tree overhanging the pavement. I took Husband there last night as it began to get dark (stealth plum picking) but sadly all of the plums were too high to reach. Taking a ladder there seems wrong without the owner’s permission (despite the fact that they are overhanging the road and therefore ok to take, theoretically) so this weekend we plan to return and ask the owner. Failing that, more blackberries!

—

Blackberry & Apple Pie

Pastry:

Sieve 200g plain flour into a stand mixer and add a pinch of salt and 100g of cubed, chilled, unsalted butter. Mix slowly until it turns to a breadcrumb like consistency. Add a small amount of cold water to the moving mixture until it has all combined. Do not add too much water as you want to be able to touch the pastry without it sticking to you. Ball up the pastry and place it in a bowl in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Pie:

In a pie dish slice 3-4 cooking apples and add 500g blackberries and 2-3 tablespoons of white sugar (depending how sweet you like your pie). Roll out the pastry and cut out a strip about 3cm wide. Dampen this strip with water and stick round the edge of the pie dish. Then lift up the lid shaped piece of pastry on the rolling pin and place over the pie dish. Press all round the edge with a fork and then use a sharp knife to trim off the excess. Use a fork to make steam holes in the centre. Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar and place in the oven at 425F/220C for 10 minutes before turning the oven down to 375F/190C for 30 or so minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Serve with custard or cream. Or ice cream.