Anna Jones’ recipes for fruit cobbler and corn salad

My second-ever job (after being on the popcorn stand at the local cinema) was working at a pick-your-own farm just outside London.

My job was making fudge; my boyfriend worked in the pick-your-own cabins, weighing hauls of raspberries and redcurrants, corn and pumpkins as the year passed.

Now, I take my son there every year: once in high summer and once to pick our pumpkin. Our bi-annual visit was this week and we left with baskets full of berries – we froze half of them, and the others that didn’t get eaten from the top of the baskets went into this cobbler. We picked armfuls of corn too, for this quick salad – I think it might become late-summer’s most cooked dish.

Pick-your-own crumble cobbler (above)

I used pick-your-own berries, but do use whatever is cheap and plentiful. I like the bottom of this cobbler to have a summer pudding feel, so I use about two-thirds sweeter berries to one-third sharper currants; you can adjust the sugar to match the sweetness of your berries.

Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4-6

For the filling
800g summer berries (I used a mixture of raspberries, loganberries and redcurrants)
2-3 tbsp demerara sugar (depending on the sweetness of your fruit)
Zest and juice of an unwaxed lemon

For the streusel topping
80g demerara sugar
25g cold butter (or vegan margarine)
30g oats
30g hazelnuts or pecans, chopped

For the cobbler
150g plain or spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g demerara sugar
75g cold butter (or vegan margarine), cubed
1 egg, beaten, or 1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water
4 tbsp any milk

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put all the fruit for the filling in a 25cm baking dish with the sugar and lemon, then toss everything together to combine and macerate slightly.

Make the streusel topping: in a food processor, roughly blitz together the sugar, butter, oats and nuts, until the mixture is slightly chopped but still a little chunky. Tip into a small bowl and put back in the fridge while you make the cobbler.

Add the flour, baking powder, sugar and butter into the same food processor that you made the topping in, and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and milk and blitz again until it becomes a thick batter, then dollop tablespoons of the cobbler mix over the berries.

Remove the streusel topping from the fridge and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and the fruit is bubbling.

Quick charred corn and crispy onion salad

Fresh corn is best here, but if you want to make the dish out of season, use cooked and cooled frozen or unsweetened tinned corn, then, char the kernels in a dry frying pan. Work to about 130g of corn per cob.

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Prep 15 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4

6 corn on the cobs, husks removed
1 large handful coriander, chopped
100g crispy onions/shallots (recipe below)

For the dressing
Juice and zest of 2 limes
1 big splash of olive oil
½ tsp harissa paste

For the crispy shallots
Vegetable oil
4 shallots, peeled, halved and very thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper

If you’re making your own shallots, heat a few very large glugs of oil in a medium saucepan, and fry the shallots over a medium heat for around seven minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper, and season with salt.

Heat a griddle pan to a high heat then, when the pan is piping hot, add the corn cobs in batches, turning every few minutes, until charred all over and cooked through. This works really well on a barbecue too.

Set aside to cool slightly, then slice off the kernels with a sharp knife. Add to a serving bowl along with the chopped herbs.

Put all the dressing ingredients in a bowl or jam jar, give it a good shake, then pour it over the corn and coriander. Give everything a mix, season, top with the crispy shallots and serve.