Blueberry Lemon Pie

This blueberry lemon pie is one of my very favorites. I made it almost daily when I owned The Hungry Moon diner, using frozen wild blueberries, long before Wyman’s  became a household brand . This recipe is a very adapted version from my Mom’s 1965 copy of Farm Journal’s Complete Pie Cookbook published by Doubleday (if you can find a copy get it!) This is a great summer pie, though if you use frozen blueberries you can bring a taste of summer to any season.

During the time I owned The Hungry Moon I baked pies every day, I have no idea how many pies I made. I would make a large batch of crust, roll each one out, and then wrap them in plastic wrap and fold them into quarters, just like Pillsbury does, but mine were made with butter, flour, sugar and salt, rather than a laundry list of ingredients.

Over the years I experimented with all kinds of thickeners for my fruit pies. Different fruits need different amounts of help to stay together. For apple pies you really don’t need to add one, as the pectin in the apples will be enough. I like a fruit pie with some ooze, rather than a fruit pie you can slice and have it all stay neatly together. My favorite thickener is instant tapioca. I find it is less gummy than flour or cornstarch can get. Some people like arrowroot, and I confess I haven’t tried that. In the 1980’s in Stamford, NY there was no arrowroot available in the grocery store, and I have been satisfied with instant tapioca so have ended my search.

 

One Pie Crust
Filling:
4 Cups Wild Blueberries (frozen are fine, I use Wyler’s)
1 Cup Sugar
3 TBL Instant Tapioca*
Grated Peel from 1 Lemon
2 TBL Lemon Juice
pinch of salt

Crumb Topping:
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Lt Brown Sugar
1 Stick of Butter
Cut together, or put into food processor until well blended
Squeeze into large clumps

Combine all filling ingredients in bowl, and turn into an unbaked pie crust
Top with Crumb Topping, distributing crumbs evenly
Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes to an hour, filling should be bubbling, and crust a golden brown

*After baking countless pies for my diner, I came to the conclusion that this is the best pie thickener of all, and I use it in all my fruit pies)