BERRIED TREASURE

Blackberries are the most luscious and perhaps the most overlooked of summer berries. These knobby berries, the size of your thumb and bursting with juice, are often too tart to eat out of hand.

The usual alternative is to make a blackberry pie or cobbler. Delicious, but neither recipe captures the fresh sprightly flavor of the berry.

Being a blackberry devotee, I`ve been working on this dilemma. How could I preserve blackberry`s taste while taming its tartness?

My solution is to use blackberries as a sandwich filling. The ``bread`` makes the berry mellow. But this isn`t just any sandwich. I start with baking powder biscuits. I split the biscuits, slather on rich creme fraiche, add a layer of peaches and blackberries, and a sprinkling of sugar.

These sandwiches are a delectable way to use blackberries or any summer berry. What`s more, if you don`t want to bake, you can buy biscuits and assemble the dessert.

You`ll find that this is such a filling dessert that you`ll want to plan a light entree. If soft-shell crabs are available in your market, try the following roast crab recipe as a main course. The roasting gives the crabs a crunchy finish while keeping the flesh moist. If you can`t find soft-shell crabs, you can use the same treatment to prepare jumbo raw shrimp. Buy 8 ounces to serve two.

ROAST SOFT-SHELL CRABS

CRABS:

4 large soft-shell crabs, cleaned

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 garlic clove, minced

SAUCE:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/8 chipotle chile powder or hot red pepper sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

To prepare Crabs, place crabs on foil-lined baking sheet. In cup, combine oil, melted butter and garlic. Brush over crabs. Roast crabs in oven at 500 degrees until crackling and nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. (If using shrimp, turn over halfway through cooking.)

Meanwhile, prepare Sauce. In cup, combine mayonnaise, chile powder, lemon juice and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir well.

To serve, place 2 crabs on each plate. Spoon sauce on side. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

PEACH AND BLACKBERRY SANDWICHES

1/2 cup flour

Dash salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

7 teaspoons milk or more

1/4 cup creme fraiche (see Note)

2 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 cup blackberries

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar

In bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking powder. Cut butter into small pieces and cut into flour mixture. Stir in 7 teaspoons milk or enough to make dough that sticks together.

Knead 5 or 6 times. Divide in half. Shape into 2 disks, 1 inch thick. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees 15 minutes. Remove from baking sheet. Cool 5 minutes, then split open.

Spread each half with 1 tablespoon creme fraiche. Toss together peach slices, berries and sugar. Stir well. Spoon half of fruit on bottoms of 2 biscuits. Top with remaining halves to form sandwiches. Makes 2 servings.

Note: If you can`t find creme fraiche in your market, use 1/4 cup sour cream sweetened with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon vanilla.

(Bev Bennett is the author of four cookbooks including the award-winning ``Dinner for Two,`` Barron`s.)

(c) 2000, Bev Bennett. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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Author: Bev Bennett