This is one of my favorite summer pies, I have four blueberry bushes and this is the primary dish they go into! This recipe is just for the filling assembly and baking, for my regular pie crust click here and for a gluten free pie crust click here.
Time: 20 minutes active and 35 minutes passive
Ingredients:
- 2lbs fresh blueberries (washed and picked over)
- 2/3C brown sugar
- 20 lemon verbena leaves*
- 1/3C flour (regular or GF)
- 1/4tsp sea salt
- 2Tbs fresh lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- 2Tbs unsalted butter
- 1 egg whisked w/ 1Tbs water
*I have not successfully found a substitute for lemon verbena, I grow my own every year basically just for this pie, there is a unique taste to it that isn’t easy to replicate. You can use mint or lemon balm instead but it’s a very different flavor.
Preheat oven to 425* and make sure you have at least a lower crust in a pie pan, I usually stick that back in the fridge while I prepare these ingredients.
In a medium bowl combined brown sugar and thinly minced lemon verbena. Take a large soup spoon and press the pieces of lemon verbena into the brown sugar, you want to release the aromas and oils from the lemon verbena into the sugar. You don’t have to be exhaustive here, but give it a good press and mix!
Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix, breaking up any sugar clumps.
Add the blueberries to the bowl and mix to coat well.
Zest 1 lemon, add to the bowl, and mix
Add the blueberry mix to the crust, and sprinkle lemon juice evenly over the mixture
Add the pieces of butter and then add the top piece of crust is using
Using your finger crimp the edges of the pie and brush the top with egg wash
Bake for 25-35 minutes and start checking at 25 minutes, crust should be golden brown and flakey