Fresh Blackberry Pie

It's berry season, and what is better than a fresh blackberry pie in the heat of summer? It definitely makes up for all the scratches and slivers you get from picking the berries! 

Fresh Blackberry Pie

-1 baked pie shell 

-about 4 1/2 C of fresh berries

-1/2 C sugar
-2 tbsp corn starch

-place 1 C of the berries into a saucepan with the sugar
(I use the less ripe, and smaller berries for this)
-heat over medium heat, smashing the berries as you stir.
-For best results, once the mixture is hot and the juices are leaching out of the berries, strain the mixture through a mesh sieve to remove most of the seeds. I usually use a spoon and press the mixture until there are only seeds remaining in the sieve. This can take quite a bit of time, but it's well worth it!
-Whisk in the corn starch before returning to the heat.
-Simmer over medium heat until the juice becomes a thick sauce. Add more sugar if the sauce is too tart (this really depends on the sweetness of the berries)You can also add a bit of water if the sauce turns out too thick. You want a nice pudding consistency, not too runny and not too thick that you can't mix in the berries.
-Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
-Gently fold in the berries and spoon into the pie shell.
-Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Out of Season Variation: 

This is perfect when you pick so many berries that you don't know what to do with. It also works great with frozen berries that you buy at the store if you aren't lucky enough to live in an area with blackberries ;) 

-1 baked pie shell

-4 C frozen berries
-3/4 C berry juice
-1/2 Sugar

-2 Tbsp corn starch

-thaw berries in a strainer over a bowl.
-use the juice that was strained and add enough water to get 3/4 C of liquid. Mix it with the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan.
-cook over medium low heat until sauce is thick.
-Cool and gently fold in berries.