'Tis the Season for Blueberry Pie

In Northern California, we have blackberries.  Lots of them.  They grow with reckless abandon along fence lines and at the edges of school playgrounds.  They ramble over ledges and down hillsides, their thorny vines twirling around anything that stands in their way.  In a few months’ time, they’ll cover an open field like a prickly green blanket.  Try to cut them back and they come back in double force.  By late July, the berries are ripe and juicy, heavy and fragrant.  So I make blackberry pie.  I just wander down the street to the creek that runs through my neighborhood and pluck the berries into a bowl.  Throughout August, the vines produce enough fruit for a pie every weekend.  I suddenly become a much sought-after dinner party guest because I invariably come bearing pie.

But what I really love is blueberry pie.  Blueberries don’t grow here; they’re an East Coast treat.  And as far as I can tell, East Coasters take them for granted the same way we take for granted our blackberries, always trying to hack them back and keep them out of their yards.  What a shame!

Luckily, you can buy blueberries at the grocery store, and this time of year they’re so sweet and fresh, they almost taste like you picked them yourself.  They’re lovely on their own, of course, but I think homemade pie is where they really belong.  There’s just something about a flaky, buttery crust, a bit of sugar and a  squeeze of fresh lemon juice that puts them at their best.

RECIPE:

My recipe for blueberry pie is the same recipe I use for most fruit pies: 4 cups berries or sliced fresh fruit, 1/2 cup of sugar (more or less depending upon the ripeness and natural sugar content of the fruit), 3 tablespoons of corn starch, and the juice and zest of one lemon.  This recipe works well with blackberries, blueberries, peaches, apricots, and nectarines, or any combination of those.  If you’re using stone fruit, don’t forget to remove the skin before slicing.

Start with one recipe for pie crust. Then make the filling: Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch, stir gently into the berries or sliced fruit, and add the zest and juice to the fruit/sugar mixture.  Stir until all of the sugar mixture is moistened by the lemon juice.  Press the bottom crust into a pie plate, pour the fruit mixture into the crust, and cover with a lattice or plain top crust.  Brush with egg wash (one egg beaten gently with 1 tablespoon of water) and bake for about 45 minutes at 375 F, or until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.

I made blueberry pie last weekend and photographed it for you, of course.

Oh — and then the exciting news!  I made another pie a few days later and filmed the whole thing (well, I didn’t film it, my friend Olivier did)  including a demonstration of how to make the lattice pattern with the top crust.  The video–the first in a series for my blog–will be posted soon.   Stay tuned for that.