Blueberry Pie
Blueberry pie in iron boat on sea of rock [Photo Credit: Alex Paternostro]
by Seth and Alex Paternostro
February 14, 2022
Not every day do you watch a friend disappear. As the sun sets, your heart breaks, calling forth a tremble, quiet reflection, and tears. Such was the case for Bernice as the curly wiggle of Piggy’s tail receded for the last time.
Just a moment before, they had been munching on apple cores together, Bernice happily nudging beside Piggy. But then he announced his immanent departure. Shocking, how a few words could so flatten a meal and the future ahead of it. It was as if Piggy’s wholesome presence was already emptiness in the stall.
“Must you go?” Bernice asked with a quaver in her oink. Piggy had always been around, ever since that first, bumpy ride in the beat up, blue pickup truck, which brought them both to the farm.
“I must,” Piggy replied with a serious turn, “I know that this is a shock to you, but after Just Jim’s return, I vowed to experience the world beyond these bountiful grounds. The life this place prescribes is inherently bound, and I will never be content if I fail to seek unimagined paths.”
“You don’t have to go on an adventure, Piggy. Plus, there’s more here than just brooding in the mud. I like listening to you talk,” Bernice said quietly and bumped her snout against Piggy’s.
“It will be hard for you without me, but you need an audience of your own now.”
Piggy’s outline blurred as Bernice’s tears began to form. While she chewed the remains of another apple, she remembered the good times they had shared. When wee piglets, they had snuck up to the windowsill of the Farmer’s House and eaten a whole pie before running off with squeals and giggles and blueberries on their snouts. The farmer knew the culprits then and when it happened to the apple and peach pies, too, but he never told his wife. It was their little joke. And there was that rainy day brightened by purple hyacinths, white lilies of the valley, and onion orbs which were just greeting light. Piggy had surprised Bernice with a walk in the flowers and remarks on the values of sunshine.
Bernice knew that she was not smartest sow in the shed, but she was a carer. Every time her piglets grew plump, she would give them a kiss atop their foreheads and tell them it would all be okay. She would retire to her pen, afterwards, and just lay down in the hay, crying. She knew the point of a hog’s life. So with Piggy having declared his intentions to leave, Bernice was going to be fully alone. She understood that he did not mean to hurt her feelings, but who would she spend time with when he was gone? Who would she quietly admire, share her extra foodstuffs with, and wish to love her back?
“Goodbye, Bernice.”
Piggy stood and stared at Bernice fondly for a few moments before walking to the water trough. He drank as much as he could then started to cross the grassy, free-range area. A duck quacked farewell while a fuzzy, dotted line mimicked behind. A goat bleated, the sheep shuffled over, a horse neighed, the miniature donkeys hee-hawed, a goose honked, and chanticleer stood proudly.
Piggy strode past a hopping rabbit, smiling Reynard, and a fluffy, humming huacaya alpaca, a newcomer who did not understand what all the fuss was about. Piggy had told everyone except him since they had never met. Right before he gained the short wooden fence, Piggy stopped when he heard a bell ringing behind him.
“I wanted to see you off,” Just Jim said, and he chewed his cud. He smelled faintly of alcohol.
“Thank you, JJ. I wish you the best.”
“Same to you, same to you,” the bull replied, with a little stagger and the tip of a horn.
Bernice walked up to the fence, and as Piggy put one trotter onto the bottom rail, then another, she gave his butt a boost as he climbed over. Piggy plopped down on the other side, shook himself off, and nodded appreciatively.
As Piggy started down the road, Bernice could barely stand.
He never looked back.
Wind rustled Piggy’s thin, course hair, and the sight of so many vegetables and multi-colored plants calmed his mind. He walked on the grass by the side of the road until those plots ended. With a turn, he met a highway. Cars zoomed at cornfield speeds, curious truckers blared their horns, and thumping speakers blasted bizarre, aggressive trap. It was exhilarating!
As Piggy passed the green mile markers and little spaces for cars to rest, he saw a certain beauty to it all. Even in the underpasses, where prisoners collected trash, he felt a strength to this concrete land. One of the men stopped to marvel at the animal staring at him and waved. He was certain that the pig did, too.
Serves 8
Total time
4 hours
Equipment:
large saucepan, knife, silicone spatula, tasting spoon, measuring cups and spoons, mortar and pestle, digital scale, whisk, mixing bowls, pastry blender or stand mixer with paddle attachment, bench scraper, rolling pin, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, 10-inch cast-iron skillet, scissors, pastry brush
Tableware:
utensils and plates
Ingredients
For the crust:
2 tsps kosher salt
2 tsps sugar, plus as needed for blind baking and dusting
2½ cups all-purpose flour (385 grams)
2½ sticks unsalted butter, 1 frozen and the rest chilled
2 tbsps apple cider vinegar
½ cup ice water, or as needed
¼ cup heavy cream
For the filling:
8 cups frozen blueberries, defrosted
½ cup sugar
4 tbsps unsalted butter
3 tbsps all-purpose flour
1 lemon
¼ cup honey
Kosher salt, as needed
Instructions
(To make the filling)
Set out all equipment and ingredients.
Combine the defrosted blueberries with the sugar and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl.
Slice the lemon into quarters.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat, then stir in the flour until blond and bubbling.
Pour in the blueberries with their released juices, then cook on medium until thickened to the consistency of a loose jam, stirring constantly.
Turn off the heat, add the honey, squeeze in a few wedges of lemon, taste, and adjust.
Cool to room temperature before filling the pie.
(To make the crust and assemble the pie)
Grind together the salt and sugar until powdery, then whisk with the flour in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
Roughly chop the frozen stick of butter, and add to the bowl. Mix on medium-low speed or chop with a pastry blender until the texture of very fine breadcrumbs.
Cube the remaining butter, toss with the flour mixture, then press each piece between your thumbs and forefingers until flattened and roughly the size of walnuts.
Form a well in the center of the mixture, pour in the ice water and cider vinegar, then push the dry into the wet. Mix briefly with your hands until the dough comes together when squeezed and looks neither dry nor soggy.
Form into a rough ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
Dump the dough onto a cool work surface, flatten into a square, then roll out until the edges are about 12 inches each.
Perform a double fold by bringing the left and right sides to meet in the center and then folding this in half along the centerline. The dough should now be four layers tall and a quarter of the width of the original square. Cover, and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
Repeat the rolling out, folding, and chilling process.
Cut the dough in half, then roll out two circles that are slightly larger than the 10-inch cast-iron skillet.
Sandwich each dough round between sheets of aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
Meanwhile, preheat a convection oven to 400°F, and place a rack in the center.
Fit one dough round into the pan, trimming its edges with scissors if necessary.
Cover with aluminum foil, and fill with sugar.
Blind bake for 20 minutes, remove the sugar and foil, then continue baking until lightly golden brown on top, between 10 and 15 more minutes.
Add the filling, cover with the top crust, cut steam vents in the center, brush with heavy cream, and dust with a tablespoon of sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F, then lower the temperature to 325°F, and cook for 30 more minutes, or until the top is lightly golden brown and beautiful.
Cool for at least 1 hour before devouring.
Notes: If you do not have a stand mixer or a pastry blender, then use your fingers to mix the frozen butter and flour. You can rest the dough in the refrigerate for several hours between steps or up to two days before baking. Making and cooling the filling while the dough is resting will efficiently make use of time. For a standard oven, bake at 25°F higher than the suggestions for a convection oven. Using sugar to weigh down the dough during the blind bake is a method derived from Stella Parks that takes advantage of sugar’s greater density than other typical blind baking weights. The sugar can be reserved solely for blind baking or used in any typical application. For a detailed description of the double fold technique, refer to Jacques Pépin’s New Complete Techniques.
NUTRITION FACTS:
Calories 649 Total Fat 35.4g (45%) Saturated Fat 24.9g (125%) Cholesterol 95mg (32%) Sodium 124mg (5%) Total Carbohydrate 78.8g (29%) Dietary Fiber 5g (18%) Total Sugars 35.9g Protein 6.1g Vitamin D 2mcg (10%) Calcium 13mg (1%) Iron 3mg (15%) Potassium 183mg (4%) - Note: Please read our Nutrition Disclaimer.
Seth Paternostro is a writer and recipe developer based in Chicago. He is a co-founder of Our American Cuisine and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in East Asian Studies. You can learn more about him here.
Alex Paternostro is a writer and food photographer based in Chicago. He is a co-founder of Our American Cuisine and graduated with honors in English from Princeton University. You can learn more about him here.
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