HALLIE EPHRON: What says summer better than a great blueberry pie? (Tomatoes, corn, lobster, and blueberry pie.)
Here's one I made a few weeks ago which was just about the best I've ever made. Or at least it was the way I like it with a very crisp crust and tangy, not overly sweet filling.
It's the lemon, egg wash, and slightly longer than usual cooking time that give it the edge.
Here's the scoop--
Ingredients:
3 pints of blueberries (the little ones from Maine are great, but the big plump ones are great, too)
3 T flour
1/2 c sugar
Juice from half a lemon or to taste
Grated rind from half a lemon or to taste
1 1/2 T butter
Egg wash (about 2 tablespoons of beaten egg with a splash of water)
Pie crust - I use a Pillsbury ready to go pie crust that comes in the refrigerator case -- you just unroll the pieces
Steps
Line bottom of a pie pan with crust.
Wash the berries; remove the stems. Mix with dry ingredients. Sprinkle w/lemon juice.
Place berries in the bottom crust. Distribute bits of butter over the berries.
Cover with top crust and crimp the edges all around. Cut vents in the crust.
Brush on the egg wash.
Bake 45 minutes at 400 degrees. (I put it on a cookie tin so it doesn't bubble all out over the oven.) Leave it in longer if it's not as brown as you like it.
SERVE warm with, what else, vanilla ice cream.
Blueberry variations? Peach pie anyone? Plum torte? If you have a favorite summer recipe (or want one) please, share.
