FREE-FORM BLUEBERRY PIE

Recipe Notes: If you live in the Northwest, as I do, you may find that this recipe is the perfect use for the wonderful blueberries you can buy from local farmers here.

Preparation Time: About 1 hour

Quantity: One pie

Source: The Essential Baking Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. plain flour
• 1/2 c. powdered or icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1 lb. blueberries
• 1/4 c. powdered or icing sugar
• 1 tsp. finely grated lemon rind
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 egg white, lighlty beaten

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift the flour and powdered sugar into a bowl and rub in the butter, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center and add almost all the juice. Mix together with a flat-bladed knife, using a cutting action, until the mixture comes together in beads, adding the remaining juice if necessary.
• Gently gather the dough together and lift onto a sheet of baking paper. Roll out to a circle about 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Place the blueberries in a bowl and sprinkle them with powdered sugar, lemon rind, and cinnamon.
• Place the chilled pastry shell (still on baking paper) on a baking pan. Brush the center of the pastry lightly with egg white. Pile the blueberry mixture onto the pastry in an 8 inch (20 cm) diameter circle, then fold the edges of the pastry over the filling, leaving the center uncovered. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Cut into wedges and serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.