Double-Crust Blueberry Pie
Makes 6 to 8 servings
ROSE: Every year in late summer, Steve Boothby and his wife, Bonnie Rollo, host an annual pickling day, complete with lunch, which once featured the best blueberry pie I had ever tasted – a masterpiece from Steve who grew up in Muskoka, the source of the pie’s wild blueberries. Steve says, “This recipe comes from my mom, Marion Boothby of Bracebridge. At eighty-eight, she can still produce at least one of these pies a year.”
Wild blueberries (or low-bush blueberries) grow in eastern, central and northern Canada, mainly in sandy, rocky soil, or where there is mowed or burnt-over forest area. High-bush blueberries are grown commercially, extensively in Ontario, but also in other parts of Canada. If you are using cultivated blueberries for the pie, add a squirt more lemon juice and ¼ tsp (1 mL) each cinnamon and nutmeg.
INGREDIENTS
- pastry for a deep, 2-crust 9-inch (23 cm) pie (see Reputation-Making Pastry, page 272)
- 4 cups (1L) blueberries
- 2/3 cup (150 mL) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) quick tapioca
- ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) grated lemon zest
- 4 tsp (20 mL) fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp (7 mL) butter, in bits
INSTRUCTIONS
Line a 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate with pastry; trim to the rim. Set aside.
Combine the blueberries, sugar, flour, tapioca and salt. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Mix well and turn into the pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter, wet the pastry around the rim, cover with the top pastry and press the two layers together gently along the rim. Trim the top pastry to about ¾ inch (2 cm) from the rim; fold the overhang under the bottom pastry. Flute both layers of the pastry together. Slash vent holes in the top pastry (a small circle in the middle and 4 or 5 slashes radiating from the middle). Bake in the bottom third of a 450° F (230° C) oven for 10 minutes; reduce the heat to 350° F (180° C) and bake until the blueberries gently bubble up through the slashed holes, about 30 to 40 minutes longer.
VARIATION: Canadian Apple Pie
If you want the apples to hold their shape, choose a variety such as Northern Spy, Crispin or Idared. Any of the McIntosh family such as Cortland or Empire, turn into sauce when baked. Some people like to use a combination of apples to get an interesting flavour and texture.
Substitute the blueberry filling with 8 cups (2 L) peeled and cored apple slices, ¾ cup (175 mL) granulated sugar, 2 tbsp (30 mL) cornstarch, 1 tsp (5 mL)cinnamon and a pinch each of nutmeg and salt. Proceed as in the main recipe, dotting the filling with 2 tbsp (30 mL) soft butter.
SOURCE: Canada’s Favourite Recipes by Elizabeth Baird and Rose Murray. BGO thanks the authors for allowing us permission to share this recipe.
Photo: Marcella DiLonardo