Though I love berries, I’ve only ever really been able to cook with them when I’ve been overseas as their cost here in the less-than-hospitable growing climes of mainland Australia discourages me from using them for anything much more than a garnish. That’s til I fortuitously found myself in Tasmania again last week at the height of blackberry season. Though this time I was down there for work, I was lucky enough to be able to squeeze in a weekend with my Hobart friends beforehand. So on Saturday afternoon, we piled in the car with gumboots and empty containers in search of free berries. We didn’t have to go far.
When it came to deciding what to make with our huge haul, there were a number of important criteria: something quick (when you spend the afternoon painstakingly picking berries one at a time and braving thickets of thorns to do so you deserve some instant gratification), something delicious (naturally), and something whose preparation benefited from multiple pairs of hands (as I had two small, eager, purple-stained assistants).
Cobbler is less fiddly than pie, needing only a top crust and no refrigeration period (or rolling!) before assembly. It requires nothing more than a few everyday ingredients and best of all, is assembled in a pleasingly slap-dash fashion by grabbing handfuls of dough, smooshing them into flat patties and placing them patchwork-style on top of the fruit. That there are gaps, all the better, as the berries bubble up through the cracks while cooking, oozing sweet, dark juices. In half an hour, we had dessert. And the satisfaction of having earned it.
