Black and Blues

If you’re going to make pie crust, you may as well double up on it and stash some in the freezer. That way, when you happen upon beautiful pints of blueberries and blackberries in the market on a Sunday morning, you can throw a pie together without much effort. So, I made this pie on Sunday morning, went to the pool with a view with the fellas (I’d call it by name, but it seems to be the “pool that no one knows about” and I’d rather keep it a secret). It was a beautiful day for it, the water was the perfect temperature – not too warm, not too cold, ideal for swimming laps. And swim I did, knowing that a large hunk of pie was awaiting me post pool! 

For the crust:

• 1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 stick of very cold butter, cut up into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

• 2 pints blueberries
• 1 pint blackberries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces

1. Put flour, butter, and salt in a food processor with a metal blade pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water until the dough begins to clump together. Form into a ball, place in plastic bag, and work dough into a flat disc. Refrigerate for an hour.

2. In a large bowl toss blueberries and blackberries with the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.

3. Roll out two thirds of the dough to fit an 8″ pie plate, ease pastry onto plate. Scoop the fruit into the pastry, dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry and cut out long 1/2″ strips. Weave the lattice crust, tuck under the crust and crimp.

4. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425º oven for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 375º and bake for another 35 to 40 minutes until crust is golden. Cool on a wire rack.