LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Huckleberry Pie


Huckleberry pie, ready to enjoy!

(Recipe for one 9- or 10-inch pie)

INGREDIENTS

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 and 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Filling

8-10 cups huckleberries (can mix with other berries, too)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp. cardamom

1 beaten egg white for on top of lattice crust

4 tbsp. raw sugar or granulated sugar for sprinkling over the lattice crust

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 420 F.

For crust, place flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, or your fingertips, cut butter into flour until butter is integrated and just tiny pea-sized pieces remain. Stir cider vinegar into mixture with a fork. Slowly stir in water, a little bit at a time, (no ice) into the flour mixture until you are able to gather the mixture into a ball. Now, divide the dough in half, but one half slightly larger, using the larger one for the bottom crust and the smaller one for the lattice top.

With a rolling pin, roll dough out on a well-floured board or pastry cloth into a circle that is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wider than the top outside edge of the pie dish. Lay pastry into the dish, fitting it into the bottom and sides of the dish, leaving about a 1 1/2 to 2-inch overhang. Set aside.

Roll out the second ball of dough to a circle roughly the same diameter as the top edge of the pie dish. Cut into 1- to 2-inch strips. Leave on board until ready to assemble pie.

For the filling, place washed berries, flour, salt, brown sugar, white sugar and cardamom in a large bowl. Gently toss so that sugars and flour begin to blend in with the berries. You will still see plenty of white, but don't worry, it will all cook down together.

Pour berry mixture into pie dish lined with the bottom crust.

Now, using a lattice pattern, lay half of the pie dough strips going in one direction, and the remaining pieces crossing alternately over and under the pieces going in the original direction. (See photo.) Tuck the ends of the strips into the top edge of the pie dish and roll the excess dough from the bottom crust up and over, giving it a fluted edge.

Brush tops of lattice crust with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 420 F for approximately 45 to 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly and hot all the way through. If you find that you need more time for the filling, but the crust looks done, loosely cover the top of the pie with a piece of foil for the remainder of the bake time.

Remove from oven. Pie may be served hot, warm, room temperature or chilled and garnished with ice cream or frozen yogurt. The cooler the pie is when serving, the less runny the filling will be. If you like to serve it warm, you can always cool completely and reheat, too. This will help the filling gel a bit before serving.