Classic Blueberry Pie
The title of this recipe is spot on: Blueberry pie is a classic! Lemon zest gives the sweet, earthy blueberries a fresh pop! If you’re freezing this pie, use a different thickener. Cornstarch doesn’t freeze well.
Yield: Serves 8
April 12, 2020
Ingredients
- 1 brick
- Pastry for a 9 inch double-crust pie
- All-purpose flour (for dusting surface)*
- 5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3½ tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp grated lemon peel
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp water
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
Directions
- Place brick on natural gas barbecue grid. Preheat barbecue on medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes or to 400°F.
- Roll out half of pastry on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 9 inch deep-dish pie plate, allowing for ½ inch overhang.
- Combine blueberries, ½ cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Spoon blueberry mixture into crust. Dot with butter.
- Roll out remaining pastry into a circle about ⅛ inch thick and cut into ¾ inch strips. Lay 6 strips parallel over blueberry mixture, spacing strips evenly apart to allow steam to escape. Fold back every second strip halfway. Lay one of the unused strips perpendicularly over the unfolded parallel strips. Unfold the folded strips over top of the perpendicular strip. Repeat folding and laying steps to form a lattice pattern on both sides of centre perpendicular strip. Trim edges of pastry. Fold ½ inch overhang over edge of lattice pattern and flute edges of pastry.
- Whisk together egg and water in a small bowl. Brush top crust with egg mixture and sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar.
- Set pie plate directly on top of brick. Bake with lid down, rotating pie a quarter turn every 15 minutes, until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 1¼ hours. If pastry begins to overbrown, wrap edges loosely with foil.
- Cool pie completely in pie plate on a rack.
320 calories, 14.2 g fat, 2.9 g protein, 46.3 g carbohydrate, 2.7 g fibre, 310 mg sodium
*Ingredient not included in the nutritional analysis.
As the pie in this recipe is baked on the barbecue, we recommend using a deep-dish pie plate made of stainless steel, hard-anodized aluminum or other materials that can withstand high temperatures. If using a disposable aluminum pie plate, place it into a second disposable pie plate for increased stability.
As an alternative to using the barbecue, pie may be baked in an oven at 400 F until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 1 - 1 1/4 hours.