BLUEBERRY PIE

So we haven't talked for a while and I'll start by telling you one thing - I've

never eaten a blueberry pie, ever. I've got these two friends (guys, mind you),

who can't stop going on about their affection for a good blueberry pie. One fine

day one of them tweeted - "Where can I get a good piece of blueberry pie?" and

that got me wondering.

The deal is I haven't seen fruit pies (fruits in general - berries, apple, other

stoned fruits, not just blueberry) being served in the dessert section of

restaurants here. Dessert bars and shops would bake tarts with fruits and pastry

but a simple honey pie is never served, possibly as it would be considered too...

homey? No one knows. With these two macho men waxing lyrical every now and

then about gooey berry filling oozing under steaming, flaky pie crust filled with

hip-enriching butter, I started fantasizing about how it would taste like, if and

when I successfully bake one.

After some digging around, I found Deb's and Martha's pie crust gourmet recipes

with pictures to be essentially the same - a short crust pastry or pâte brisée. I

combined the method of using the food processor to incorporate the butter and

hands to work in the water. The warm and humid weather in Singapore would've

meant disaster by the time I'd manage to cut the butter and flour into pea-sized

crumbs with a pastry cutter. Whichever method you choose, I'd say just make

sure you still see some chunks of butter in the dough for that promise of flaky,

crumbly awesomeness.

All of Deb's pie crust tips were proven to be useful, after all she wrote a trilogy of

pie crust 101. Keep everything cold - I chilled my flour mixture, the food processor

blade and mixing bowl. If my food processor bowl could've fit into my tiny fridge,

it would've gone in there too. Work quickly and decisively when rolling out the

cold dough (be patient and wait the two hours out!). Forget about rolling up the

dough around the pin just to get it stuck and tearing later, transfer by folding.

Martha's method to use parchment when rolling was what I hung on to religiously

- it would've taken just minutes for the dough to stick to my counter, though

sometimes I dream about having practical, commercial grade stainless steel

worktops, but I digress. For those of you stressing about potential lattice

madness, again, my favorite lady has a complete guide.

Now, I'll leave you with the reason why I love this pie. Other than the fact that the

crust was just how I wanted it to be and the filling's flavor lifted with that small

incorporation of a lemon's zest. Other than the fact that it became my lunch with

a melting scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Vijay, my crazy other half who won't go

near a blueberry or any other berries, ate an entire slice and claimed it would've

been just as good without the ice cream. I made my man eat blueberries whole,

nothing hidden like puree/jam/sauce/milkshake but actual, in-your-face

blueberries. I should've listened to those two men sooner.

Blueberry Pie

All butter pie crust recipe from Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen, pie recipe

adapted barely from Martha Stewart.

Yield: A 9-inch round very tall pie or 11-inch round fairly level pie.

Note: A standard pie dish/pan would be 9 inches but I accidentally got myself an

11-inch Staub (don't ask). Therefore if you have one large lonely-looking dish

there in the corner mostly ignored by 9-inch recipes, fear not. The pie crust recipe

works with some slight dividing modification which I included in this recipe.

Pâte brisée:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks/8 ounces/16 tablespoons/1 cup unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch

pieces and very cold

1 cup ice water

Filling:

8 cups/4 pints blueberries, picked over

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the pie crust: In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and

salt, 2-3 times. Retrive the cold butter from the fridge and add it to the

food processor. Pulse in short 2-seconds bursts till the butter pieces are the

size of tiny peas, roughly, about 3-4 times. It doesn't have to look even all

over, be careful not to overmix the crumbs. Pour out the mixture into a

large cold bowl.

2. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of the ice cold water over the butter and flour

mixture. Gather the dough together quickly with your fingers. Add in small

amounts of water gradually till dough comes together. (I used just about

1/2 cup of water, how much depends on your environment and humidity.)

Gather the dough into one ball and knead gently just to incorporate. Divide

the dough in half (or about 60:40 ratio if you are using an 11-inch pie dish

like me), and place each ball on a piece of cling wrap. Wrap each dough into

a disk and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours, before

using. (I chilled mine for 2 1/2 hours.)

3. Prepare the pie: On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out one

disk of dough to a 12-inch round (if using an 11-inch pie dish, roll out the

larger disk into a 14-inch round). Dust the rolled out dough with some flour

and fold it very loosely into quarters. Quickly transfer the dough into the

pie dish, centering it, then unfold and press it gently onto the dish. Dust of

excess flour with a dry pastry brush. Fold edge of dough over and under,

chill pie shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve the parchment paper

aside.

4. While the pie shell is chilling, place blueberries in a large bowl and with

your hands, mush up about 1/2 cup of berries, letting them fall into the

bowl as you go along. Add in the sugar, flour, lemon zest and juice; stir with

a spatula to combine. Set aside. Retrieve the second dough ball from the

fridge and roll it out to an inch larger than the pie dish on the same

parchment used earlier, floured lightly. With a pastry cutter, cut the dough

into 1-inch wide strips. Retrieve the pie shell from the fridge when the time

is up and spoon the berries mixture into it. Arrange the strips of dough top

in a lattice pattern and crimp accordingly.

5. Bake the pie: In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and milk. Brush

lattice surface and pie border with egg wash. Refrigerate pie until firm,

about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F/200°C, with rack

placed at the lower third. Line a baking sheet large enough to hold the pie

dish with parchment. Place the chilled pie on the baking sheet and bake

until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven

temperature to 350°F/180°C. Continue baking until crust is deep golden

brown and filling is bubbling in the center, about 40 to 50 minutes more.

(Mine was done at 45 minutes, be sure to check for the bubbling juices.)

6. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool slightly. I like to eat it still warm, with a

cold scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream on the side. Pie is best savored the

day it is baked, but can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with

foil or cling wrap, for up to 2 days.

Source: http://pickyin.blogspot.ca/2012/03/blueberry-pie.html