How’s this for locavore? A brown betty made with wheat-cider bread from the Macrina Bakery a few blocks away, and huge, juicy blackberries from the alley out back. (All other ingredients courtesy of the neighborhood Trader Joe’s.) I believe that the original recipe came from a Whole Foods’ flyer a few years ago.
Blackberries have me under their spell these days. I can’t go anywhere without scanning the scenery for unplundered patches, or gazing impotently at those enormous jet-lack clusters that flirt from just beyond my reach. I carry a plastic baggie at all times and am always scratched up like the loser in a girl fight. I marvel at the fact that members of the same cluster ripen at different rates, making it possible for me to get a good crop from the same bush that my neighbors harvested only the day before. The 4 cups of berries called for by this recipe took me all of 10 minutes to collect.
Blackberry Pecan Brown Betty
½ c sugar
8 oz bread in ½” cubes
4 c blackberries
½ c pecans
¼ c lemon juice
Coat a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with butter and sugar. In a big bowl, pour the melted butter over the cubed bread and toss to coat. Add the berries, pecans, sugar, and lemon juice, and mix gently. Transfer to the dish and sprinkle the top with sugar. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 375. Remove the foil and back another 10-15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
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