Elle's Fresh Blueberry Pie #FridayPieDay

Fresh blueberries are the star of this pie, stirred through with a sweet berry glaze and then piled into a crispy, flakey pie crust. 

It’s been just over two years since the blogging community got the terrible news that one of our special friends, Lee Ann known to us all as Elle of Elle’s Kitchen had passed away. We pulled together to celebrate her life by choosing recipes to cook from her blog and had a great big Ellapalooza party. If you’ve been reading this space for that long you might remember that I shared a one of Lee Ann’s delicious cocktails, a Moscow Mule. What you couldn’t know is that the refreshing Mule won out over this fresh blueberry pie by just a nose. It’s been on my to-make list too long but since it's a sad anniversary of sorts and the blueberries were on sale this week at my local supermarket, it seemed like the right time to make it and remember Elle. We all still miss her.

Ingredients
Dough for a one crust pie 
1 egg white
1 cup or 150g frozen berry blend (I used a mix called Black Forest fruit.)
4 cups or 630g fresh blueberries
1/2 cup or 120ml water
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pinch salt

Method
Wash the blueberries and spin them dry gently in a salad spinner and lightly beat the egg white.

Heat oven to 375°F or 190°C. Line the pie pan with the crust dough, and then cover with a piece of parchment paper. Fill the bottom of the parchment with dried beans or baking beads. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the crust from oven, then remove the parchment and beans. Brush the crust with the egg white, and then bake until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Set on a rack to cool.

While the crust is baking and then cooling, prepare the filling. In a small saucepan, heat the frozen berries, and the 1/2 cup or 120ml of water. Bring to a boil.

While that's coming to a boil, whisk the cornstarch and remaining (2 tbsp plus 1 tsp) water in a small bowl. Stir well and set aside. When the fruit and water come to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and stir for 3 to 4 minutes.

Whisk in the sugar, cornstarch mixture, lemon juice and salt.

Turn the heat up a little bit and keep whisking until the fruit mixture thickens and becomes a gorgeous glossy thick fruity gel.

Remove the gel from the heat.  In a large bowl, stir the gel with the fresh berries.

Spoon into the baked crust, then let it sit for at least 2 hours before cutting into it.

Enjoy!

This fresh blueberry pie is my contribution to this month's Friday Pie Day, the brilliant creation of Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen. (Formerly girlichef.)

I am pleased to join her on the last Friday of each month for pie and crust recipes, techniques, tools of the trade, and other inspiration.

This month Heather made an easy lobster pie. Doesn't that sounds divine?

For more information and recipes, please check out her #FridayPieDay page!

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