Sometimes an idea gets stuck in your head.
For me, these are usually always food related. This time it was blueberry rhubarb pie.
Sounds innocent enough, doesn’t it?
So I ignored the fact that I’ve never worked with rhubarb, never made a blueberry pie, and haven’t made any other variety of pie in years… and set out to make what I thought would be a triumphant recipe.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when I cut a slice to find pieces of fruit floating in a sea of red-blue water under that beautiful crust.
Sigh.
Alright, minor setback. It still tasted delicious, so at least I had that going. And the crust was AMAZING. Adapted from Ina Garten, naturally.
I set out to do some research.
It seemed to be the general consensus that blueberries will keep whatever thickening agent you’re using from working unless you cook it ahead of time. This I could do. I had used flour in pie #1, and thought I’d switch to cornstarch for pie #2.
Round two started with half the blueberries going into a pot with sugar and cooking down, then combining with a cornstarch slurry and cooking a bit more. The changes were instantly visible in the filling.
It also seemed my idea of a sky-high pie might not have been the best. I cut down on the amount of fruit.
I also mayyybe didn’t wait until pie #1 was completely cool to slice it. So for pie #2 I waited. And waited. And then I waited some more.
Well… again, delicious. But still, not nearly a clean slice of pie!
I definitely waited several hours to slice it. Should I have refrigerated it before slicing? Cut bigger holes in the crust? Cooked it longer? Prayed to the pie gods?
I’m hoping somebody out there will have the answer.
So I’m kind of giving you a recipe today, but kind of not.
If you want something that’s delicious, but not tooootally presentable, go ahead and make it.
I’m more hoping that somebody reading this is a pie expert (mom? grandma?? kind internet stranger???) and can point me in the direction of an adjustment to this recipe that will help it hold up a bit better.
In the meantime, I’ll eat the rest of my super delicious, sloppy pie.
**Edit 5/1/12: Fixed! A little refrigeration was all this baby needed. Lesson learned!
Blueberry Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
- pie dough, recipe follows
- 1 1/2 lb rhubarb, rinsed & sliced
- 1 1/2 lb blueberries, rinsed & picked over, divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided, plus extra to sprinkle over pie
- 1/4 cup cornstarch, whisked with 1/4 cup cold water
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- blueberry jam, for brushing bottom crust
- 1 egg mixed with a splash of water, for brushing top crust
- fresh whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Method
- Prepare pie dough as directed below. While it’s chilling in the fridge, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and start the pie filling. Mash half the blueberries with 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until reduced by half. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and cook for another couple of minutes until the mixture has returned to a boil and the cornstarch is completely incorporated. Pour this mixture into a large bowl with the remaining ingredients and allow to cool.
- Roll out the bottom crust and place in the pie pan as directed below. Brush the bottom and sides with blueberry jam. Fill with the cooled fruit mixture.
- Roll out the second disc of dough and place on top of the pie. Trim the dough so that there is about an inch of overhang. Tuck the edge of the top layer under the bottom layer and crimp the edges. Brush the crust lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar. Cut several slits in the crust for ventilation.
- Bake for 1 hour – 1 hour 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Start to keep an eye on it around 40 minutes to make sure the crust isn’t browning too quickly. If it is, cover the edge of the crust with a ring of foil to protect it from any further browning. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. I’m really thinking an hour in the fridge before cutting would be favorable as well.
Yields
1 9 inch pie
https://kitchenetteblog.com/2012/04/blueberry-rhubarb-pie/
Pie Crust
Adapted from Ina Garten
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup very cold butter flavored vegetable shortening
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water
Method
- Dice the butter and shortening; return to the fridge while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Pulse the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Add the butter and shortening, pulse until they’re the size of peas. Drizzle in the water with the machine running until the dough starts to form a ball. Dump the dough onto a well floured board, cut in half, and form two discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Take one disc out of the fridge and roll out on a well floured surface, turning and re-flouring as you go to make sure it doesn’t stick. When it’s big enough to fill your pie pan with an inch or two of overhang, fold up the dough and unfold in your pie pan, easing it into place. Repeat with the second disc of dough for the top.
