Berry pie

One of my favorite ways to cook is from garden to kitchen. This summer I was able to go berry picking and bring home fresh berries to make into a pie. What I look for in a pie is fresh filling, the type that doesn't have that gelatinous look or store bought taste to it. So here I wanted to make a filling that was overflowing with berries and keep the freshness of the orchard even after it was cooked. 

Ingredients: 

For crust: 

2 1/2 cups flour

2 sticks of butter 

1 pinch of salt

1 tsp sugar

6 tsp of cold water 

For filling: 

3 cups of strawberries, chopped 

1 cup of raspberries 

1/2 cup of blueberries 

1 cup of blackberries 

1/2 cup sugar 

3 tablespoons of cornstarch 

Directions: 

For the crust:

1. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar and salt. Cut your softened sticks of butter into chunks, and put into the flour mixture. 

2. Blend with your hands, squeezing the butter and flour together. Keep breaking up the butter until you have all the flour and butter mixed, it will resemble pea sized peices of dough. 

3. At this point, add a tsp of cold water into the mixture, a tsp at a time. Begin to knead the dough in the bowl, adding a tsp as you go, you may not need more than 3, it depends on your quality of butter.

4. Remove from the dish and on a floured surface, knead the dough into one large ball. Store dough in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove and cut the dough in half. Place one half in the refrigerator until use. 

5. On a floured surface roll out the first dough for the crust. When you get it large enough to cover your pie tray, press down lightly so all the air is removed. Using a fork, make holes all around the dough to help trapped air escape. Place in refrigerator until use. 

Directions for filling:

1. Clean all the berries. De-stem the strawberries and pick out any of the fruit that look bruised. 

2. In a large saucepan, place all your fruit. Add in 1/2 cup of sugar and cornstarch. Mix well. Place on high heat and stir for about 5 minutes. The fruit should become soft and a syrup should form. Let cool and then pour into the crust. 

3. For this pie I chose to do a lattice crust on top. So I rolled out my second half of the dough and cut it into even strips. I alternated strips below and above each other to form a lattice. When the lattice was done, I incorporated the hanging peices into the base of the pie crust. 

4. Bake in oven at 375 for an hour or until the crust is golden brown. Store in refrigerator.