Tart up your summer desserts with plump saskatoon berries

'Tis the season for saskatoons.

Around late July, the prairie berries grow plump and turn deep indigo, ready to be foraged from parks, riverbanks and side streets.

With all the rain and sun we've been having, it appears to be a particularly good year in Calgary.

Botanically, saskatoons are in the same family as roses and apples, and are native to this part of the country.

They were a dietary staple for indigenous communities, their name deriving from the Cree misâskwatômina.

They're hardier than blueberries — a bit more rugged and less juicy, and contain more than twice as much fibre, but can generally be used in place of blueberries in your baked goods. 

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Saskatoons are also often used as a sweet filling for perogies, which are typically served for dessert with sour cream or crème fraîche.

And if you're not a fan of them on their own, saskatoons pair well with just about any seasonal fruit. They aren't as acidic as other berries, and do well in pies and jams with raspberries, blackberries, plums, peaches, apricots and even rhubarb.

If you're lucky enough to bring them home by the pail, they can be frozen directly, without preparation. They can go straight from freezer to batter, cobbler or pie.

Try simmering some in maple syrup to pour over pancakes and waffles, or with sugar and a squeeze of lemon to make jam.

You can also add them straight to smoothies, or pickle a jarful to serve with cheeses on your next picnic.

Saskatoon-Apricot Galette

A galette is a free-form pie. Made without a top crust, it's assembled using regular or puff pastry on a baking sheet, with the edges of the pastry folded over to enclose your choice of fruit.

It could be all saskatoons — or a combination of berries, stone fruit or rhubarb.

Add a bit more sugar if you're using a tart combination, or like things on the sweeter side. 

Pastry Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, chilled

1/4-1/3 cup cold water

Filling:

1/3-1/2 cup sugar 

2 Tbsp cornstarch 

4 cups fresh or frozen saskatoons, berries, pitted cherries, chopped rhubarb and/or sliced or chopped stone fruit (or a combination)

2 Tbsp butter, in bits (optional) 

milk or cream, for brushing (optional) 

coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Preparation:

To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl.

Grate in the butter using the coarse side of a box grater and toss to combine.

Add the water and stir until the pastry comes together.

Gather it up into a ball, pat into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for half an hour, or up to a few days. (Freeze for longer storage.)

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll your pastry out to a rough circle about 10-12 inches in diameter. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the berries (straight from the freezer, if they're frozen) and gently toss to combine.

Pile onto the middle of the pastry and fold the edges over, aiming for an inch or so around each side to contain them. If you like, dot the fruit with butter, brush the edge of the pastry with milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden and bubbling and the juices are no longer cloudy.

Cool to warm before slicing and serving with ice cream or whipped cream.

Serves 6-8.

Saskatoon Perogies

Perogies are a staple of the Canadian prairies, having made their way over with waves of eastern European immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Saskatoons became a classic filling for sweet dessert perogies, which are still boiled and sautéed in butter, and served with sour cream or crème fraîche. 

Dough Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk 

1 large egg 

2 Tbsp canola oil or soft butter

1/3 cup hot water

Filling Ingredients: 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour 

2 cups fresh or frozen saskatoons

butter, for cooking

sour cream or crème fraîche, for serving

Preparation:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the milk, egg and oil; add to the flour mixture and stir until you have a shaggy mixture.

Add the water and stir until you have a soft, tacky dough. Knead about 10 times, cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Filling:

Combine the sugar and flour; stir in the berries.

Roll out the dough about 1/8-inch thick and cut into three-inch rounds. Fill with a spoonful of the berry mixture, fold over the dough to cover and pinch the edges together to seal. 

In a large pot of lightly salted water, boil perogies in batches; once they float to the top, boil for another minute, then transfer to a dish with a slotted spoon.

If you like, cook them in a hot skillet with butter, until browned on both sides. Serve with sour cream or crème fraîche.

Makes about three dozen.

Pickled Saskatoons

Pickled saskatoons are delicious spooned over soft chèvre, atop crostini or in a salad — and you can use the brine to make a delicious indigo vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp coarse salt

1-2 star anise (optional)

a few allspice berries (optional)

2 cups fresh saskatoons

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, vinegars, cinnamon sticks and salt to a simmer over medium-high heat.

If you're using allspice berries, put them in a small square of cheesecloth along with the star anise and bundle them up with twine; otherwise, the loose allspice are easily lost among the saskatoons.

Add the bundle to the pot and simmer for about five minutes. Add the berries, bring back to a simmer and cook for about a minute.

Remove from the heat, remove the spice bundle and pour into clean jars. Refrigerate for up to a month. 

Makes about 2 cups.

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