From the Kitchen :: Rustic Blueberry Pie

Blueberry season is just around the corner, and you may have noticed the price for a pint of blueberries has gone down considerably in the grocery store recently.

I noticed this when I walked into the store on Saturday morning and decided that I needed a blueberry pie.  The only problem is that no one else in my family appreciates this kind of dessert.  I couldn’t quite justify making an entire pie that would most likely be eaten by one person, so I opted for one of my favorite ways to make a pie:  rustic.

This method is my favorite because there’s no pressure to have beautifully fluted edges on the crust, no lattice work on top required.  I even cut the filling in half, giving a better pie crust to filling ratio.  After all, the star feature of a pie is the crust; the filling is secondary.

I used a refrigerated pie crust for this, but I definitely prefer homemade.  And I’ve had the best success with pie crusts when I use half shortening and half butter for the shortening that’s called for in the recipe–just a little tip, if you want a homemade yummy, easier to roll out crust.

I had great ideas of making a twist on a traditional blueberry pie, adding in some basil (which would probably be delicious–try 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil with the other ingredients), and topping it with lemon curd (also a good idea).  In the end, I stuck with the original, and it was delicious.  My husband even liked this and he doesn’t ever like warm fruity desserts.

You could probably get six small servings out of this, and if you serve it with ice cream that would be sufficient.  But, for the two of us we made it into four servings, and just used a dollop of whipped cream.  There are great health benefits to blueberries, so the more blueberries per piece the healthier my heart will be.  Right?

Enjoy!

ll Rustic Blueberry Pie ll

1 refrigerated pie crust (or 1 recipe for 9-inch pie crust)
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
dash of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon softened butter
sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place pie crust on a large cookie sheet.

Place blueberries in a small bowl.  Add sugar, flour, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon.  Stir gently to combine, and let sit for a few minutes so the blueberries soak in some of the sugar and juice. Spoon blueberry mixture into center of pie crust, leaving about a 2-inch space around the edges.  Fold crust over the blueberry mixture, gently pressing down to keep the crust from moving during the baking time.  Spread softened butter along the top edges of the crust and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 40 minutes or until crust is lightly golden brown and blueberries are a little bubbly.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

source:  slightly adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook