Lemon Blueberry Pie

I take my fruit pies very seriously. Ever since years ago, I made my first apple pie American style and fell in love, I have been trying out so many recipes for what I believe must be the USA’s greatest export.

It is why, when asked for a dessert “with a lot of fruit” recently for a birthday, I couldn’t think of anything better than this: a recipe for a pie bursting with fruit, perfumed with lemon, adorned with a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream (and that recipe will come soon, I promise).

Blueberries are pretty much the perfect filling as they are not too sweet and, when baked, release the most delicious juices. I like to use a mix of fresh and frozen, as wild blueberries (which are often only to be found in frozen form) have a deeper flavour and release more of that heavenly syrup.

The crust, as well as the filling, are enriched with butter and lemon, two elements that will bring this pie over the top, as it should be.

Trust me please and make your own shortcrust pastry, this will make a huge difference to the end product. It also allows you to use the highest quality ingredients when it comes to butter and eggs, as well as add that sprinkle of lemon zest which is oh so important.

It can be even made a day in advance and chilled, ready for rolling and filling. Not to mention, this recipe will go well with any fruit filling you may think of so it’s amazing to keep in your repertoire. It also freezes beautifully, should you wish to make a double batch.

So without further ado, let’s get to it.

LEMON BLUEBERRY PIE

Ingredients (makes a 26cm pie, serves about 6 people generously)

For the crust

• 300g plain flour

• 2 tbsp light brown sugar

• pinch of salt

• 190g butter, very cold, cubed

• 1 egg, beaten (make sure it’s from the fridge)

• 1 extra egg, beaten, to glaze, sprinkle of light brown sugar

For the filling

• 500g fresh blueberries

• 300g frozen wild blueberries

• 135g light brown sugar

• 30g plain flour

• 14g cornstarch

• 30ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 14g (1 tbsp) cold butter, cut into small cubes

Start by making the crust. In the bowl of a food processor combine flour, cold butter, salt, lemon zest. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Alternatively, grate the very cold butter into the flour/salt/lemon zest flour until you get the wet sand consistency.

Add the beaten egg. Process until the dough comes together into a ball, not longer.

If you’re old school, add the beaten egg to the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon until it all comes together.

It is essential that you work the dough the bare minimum and keep it as cold as possible.Flatten it into a disc shape, cover in foil and refrigerate while you make the filling, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 220 degrees C.

For the filling, add the blueberries and wild blueberries (no need to defrost) to a large bowl. Mix together. Add sugar, lemon zest and juice, flour and cornstarch (this will ensure a jammy filling) and stir to combine. A few of the blueberries will burst and release their juice, which is what we are after.

Leave the filling to rest and combine flavours for about 15-20 minutes.

When ready to rock and roll, take the crust out of the fridge. Divide the dough in 1/3-2/3 portions and start by rolling the bigger chunk on a lightly floured surface. I like to use a piece of parchment paper on top, for minimal sticking to the rolling pin. It also makes transferring to the baking dish a breeze.

Place the rolled dough into the baking dish and make sure it fits the bottom and up the sides. As the filling is rather liquid at this point, make sure the bottom doesn’t have any cracks.

Pour the filling into the base, evenly. Dot the filling with the cubed cold butter.

Roll the remaining dough to make the pie lid. I like to cut a few holes with a cookie cutter to ensure the steam can escape. The resulting dough shapes can be used to decorate the pie, as well as hide any cracks you may have…

Bake the pie in the hot oven for 15 minutes. This will kickstart the cooking process of the flour and cornstarch in the filling, ensuring they will bind well.

Bring the pie out, decrease the oven temperature to 180 degrees C.

Glaze the pie with the beaten egg, sprinkle liberally with light brown sugar.

Put the pie back in the oven and bake for another 45-60 minutes, until it’s bubbling and evenly browned on top.

Remove from oven, leave to rest.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Go on, have another slice :)