Blueberry Pie

When you're lucky enough to live close to a pick-your-own berry farm, you tend to spend most of the summer months stained a lovely shade of red.  I have crimson lips and magenta fingertips in shades that, I'm sure, Maybelline would kill for.



Blueberry Pie
adapted from here

For the Pastry:
1/2 cup iced water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
380g plain flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
225g cold unsalted butter, cubed

For the Filling:
700g fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 cup cornflour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Make the Pastry:
Mix the water with the apple cider vinegar in small bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, salt, sugar and butter into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add enough of the vinegar mixture to create a soft dough which begins to gather around the blade.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and bring it together gently with your hands.  Cut the dough in half, shape each half into a flat disc, wrap them separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a least an hour.

Make the Filling:
Put the blueberries, lemon juice, both sugars,vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, salt and cornflour into a bowl and mix thoroughly, breaking up some of the blueberries as you do.

Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 220C and slide a rimmed baking sheet into the oven to heat up.

Roll one the of portions of pastry out to about 3mm thick on a lightly floured work surface.  Line the base and sides of an 18cm metal pie dish.  Trim the excess pastry.

Sprinkle the almond meal over the base of the pastry.  Pour the blueberry filling on top of the almond meal.

Roll the reamining portion of pastry out to about 4mm thick on a lightly floured work surface.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out your favourite shapes and lay them on top of the filling, slightly over-lapping, but leaving a few gaps here and there for steam to escape while the pie bakes.

Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with a good amount of Demerara sugar.  Put the pie dish directly onto the heated baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 190C and bake for a further 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling

Leave the pie to cool to room temperature before serving.