Rustic Boysenberry Tart

Oh my goodness...I've been in heaven with these sweet and juicy berries!!! A good friend was generous to share their crop of Boysenberries and I jumped at the chance to buy a flat. Although, I'm thinking I was crazy to buy just one and not two flats! I loved boysenberries as a kid, partly because they are so incredibly addicting and partly because I knew it meant summer...oh yea!! It's been really hard to find them since we've moved to the Central Coast and honestly, blackberries just aren't as flavorful (to me).

So, the afternoon I got them, I took out a little basket to wash and suddenly I had 3 little ones and a husband all with arms reaching into the sink to grab some berries! I knew these would go fast! My plan though, was to make a cobbler or crisp or pie. Well, I went the "easier" route and settled on a rustic tart. The beauty of the rustic tart is that it's a "free form" pie, so perfection isn't necessary! Yay for me and those who cringe at the thought of the perfect pie crust! Just plop the filling on the rolled out dough, then fold up the sides of the dough, brush with some egg wash and in the oven it goes!! Oh, and I splurged and made homemade vanilla-bean ice cream to go alongside...I just love summer! Don't you want to go out and find some boysenberries now??

The dough recipe came from Joy of Cooking and I kind of made up my own filling recipe.

DOUGH INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp. (3/4) stick unsalted butter
• 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS FOR DOUGH:

1. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or your handy little fingers.

2. Make a well in the center of the crumbs and add the yolk, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir with your fingers until the dough comes together. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll to make a 9 1/2 inch - 10 inch circle. **Don't worry about keeping the edges from breaking...that's what makes it rustic!!

3. Line with parchment paper an edged baking sheet. Carefully place rolled out dough onto baking sheet. Pile fruit onto the center of the dough and carefully fold up edges around the fruit.

***Whisk up one egg yolk with 1 Tbsp. water. Brush the egg-wash over the outside edges of dough and sprinkle with Raw Sugar. Bake @ 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on rack; serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

FRUIT FILLING:

• 5 Cups fresh Boysenberries (you can really use any fruit for this recipe)
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup sugar, depending on how sweet your fruit is.
• 1/4 Cup flour
• 1 Tbsp. juice from an orange (optional)

**Carefully mix all ingredients together and let sit for 15 minutes.

Boysenberries...need I say more?

The nice thing about a "rustic" tart is that it doesn't have to look pretty

All wrapped up, just waiting for an egg wash and a sprinkle of Raw Sugar