September is one of my favorite months – the weather is getting cooler, the leaves are turning color, and the breezy nights remind us that Summer is coming to an end with a bountiful harvest to come. I especially love the fruits and vegetables of late Summer/early Fall – especially Maine blueberries, which are primarily found in the Downeast areas of Bar Harbor where they grow wild. They are typically smaller than regular blueberries, giving them a high amount of antioxidants and other healthy nutrients, and have an intense sweet and tangy flavor. They also stay whole when you cook them, making them perfect for baking up a gorgeous berry pie. Although August is the peak season for picking them fresh, they can also be frozen (harvesters freeze them within 24 hours) so they are available year round – Wyman’s and Cascadian Farms are my favorite brands.
In a recent cooking class (that was centered around classic Summer foods of Maine, of course), we made a Wild Blueberry Pie with a gorgeous homemade piecrust with cut holes on top for venting the filling. We used frozen blueberries and thickened them up with a little ground tapioca and apple pectin to create a juicy sliceable filling, that wasn’t too loose and runny. The secret to a crispy piecrust is plenty of super cold butter with a small amount of vegetable shortening to crisp it up, and a touch of vodka for texture, making the crust light and flaky.
We also made a slew of other Maine-inspired dishes for our feast: Lobster Pie, Lobster Rolls, Fish Chowda, Summer Corn Pudding and Seaside Slaw, served with Blueberry Beer and some lovely cocktails – Tart Cherry and Blueberry Vodka Lemonade. I’m not sure I’m ready for Summer to be over yet, but these recipes I’ll be making all year around whenever I’m missing sunny skies and blue waters. Next year a Summer vacation on the Maine coast is definitely in order!
Maine Wild Blueberry Pie
Yield: Makes 1 pie, serving 6 to 8
Ingredients
Perfect Pie Dough
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces), divided, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), cut into ¼ inch slices
½ cup vegetable shortening, cold, cut into 4 pieces
¼ cup vodka, cold
¼ cup cold water
Wild Blueberry Filling
6 cups fresh wild blueberries (about 30 ounces), if using frozen, cook but do not mash the berries, as described below
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons of juice from 1 lemon
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, ground in a clean spice grinder
Pinch table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch pieces
Egg wash; 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
Process 1 ½ cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 (1 second) pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until a homogenous dough starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup of flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until it is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhand on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 F.
Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times, to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduce to half (about 1 ½ cups), for 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca and salt, toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.
Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 1 ¼-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 ½ inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least ½-inch overhang on each side.
Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving ½-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.
Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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