Blueberry Pie

"We urge you not to judge your fruit pies against the picture-perfect specimens shown in magazine photographs. Under real home conditions, fruit pies often bubble over during baking, brown unevenly, stick to the pan, and yield somewhat runny slices...

None of this should deter you. Fruit pies are simple, homey desserts, mean for eating, not display. And they are indeed delicious."  

                                                                                                                              - The Joy of Cooking

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Ingredients: organic fresh blueberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, cornstarch, sugar, all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, kosher salt, ice water

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I was in the mood to make a summer pie the other day and thought I'd make my favorite: blueberry. It came out so perfect, slightly tangy, lemon-y and incredibly fragrant. The key is to use a fruit that is in season and I wanted to take advantage of the summer, using some organic blueberries. You can also substitute any other seasonal fruit - other berries like raspberries, ollalieberries, boysenberries, or strawberries and of course peaches.

The first step was to make the pie crust from scratch, mixing together the flour and cold butter with a bit of ice cold water. I mistakenly added extra butter (about 4 tablespoons worth!) and thought I may have ruined the crust, but it actually made it slightly flakier and tastier! It's important to chill and set the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours. I left it in the fridge over night and went to work the next morning.  I left the dough out for about 10 minutes before I started to roll it out. The key is to work from the center out.

I learned with this crust that it's best to pad out and tap the areas that begin to crack along the edges, as I rolled it out. It's just like play-doh or clay, very malleable and pretty easy to work with. Just make sure your rolling surface and pin are well-floured. The dough recipe I got from Alice Waters yielded enough dough to make the bottom crust and top crust. Rolling out the bottom crust, I laid it gently in my pie mold (the one I have is a fluted stoneware/ceramic) and tucked the crust around the lip of the mold. It's necessary to chill it and keep it in the fridge at this point while working on the filling. Same goes for the top crust.

The filling was incredibly simple and there was no cooking or heating involved! I just combined the fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. It's also necessary to add a thickening agent to a berry pie filling. I had two resources that used either cornstarch or crushed quick-mix dry tapioca. For this recipe, I used cornstarch; 4 tablespoons per 6 cups of berries.

Pour the filling in the chilled pie mold, drape the top crust over, and fold/pinch the crusts together. To "seal" the crusts a bit more, I dampened the bottom crust around the rim with some water before placing the top crust on top. I then cinched it with a fork all around, finishing off the top crust with an egg wash and sprinkled sugar. And of course, don't forget to cut your steam vents!

Make sure to situation your oven rack to the bottom third of the oven so the pie does not sit too close to the top (or it will burn miserably). I started off the cooking at 400 degrees F for the first 20 minutes, then reduced the heat to 350 degrees F and cooked for another 45-50 minutes. 

It's best served straight from the oven, piping hot! And of course, à la mode would make it even better.