Wild Berry Cobbler

Throughout the summer, when the Earth is plentiful, foragers head out into the bush to harvest ripe, juicy berries. Huckleberries, saskatoons, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are all abundant and often find their way into freezers to be used later in the year when cold weather has put a stop to the growing season. Now that winter is settling in, this delicious recipe is an easy way to put whatever berries are in your freezer to use. In a little over half an hour, you can whip up a delicious dessert that highlights the sweet and tart flavours of wild berries and is not overwhelmed with added sugar.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cane sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water

2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1/3 cup cane sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
5 cups fresh or frozen berries

A few sprigs of fresh or dried mint, for garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

To create the dough, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut cold butter into dry ingredients until crumbly – this is a good opportunity to use your hands to mix, as it makes the process quicker. Once crumbled, add the vanilla and boiling water and stir just until dry and wet ingredients are incorporated.

In a separate bowl, stir cornstarch into cold water. Add sugar, lemon juice and berries of choice into water, and then pour into a cast iron skillet. While stirring frequently, bring berry mixture to a boil. Place dough into berry mixture by the spoonful.

Transfer cast iron skillet into the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. The dough should have a rich, golden colour to it. Wild berry cobbler is delicious served warm with a scoopful of ice cream and garnished with mint. If using fresh mint, dice up finely; if using dried, crumble a couple leaves over the dish. Serves eight to 10 people.