Canadian Helen Gougeons Blueberry Pie Food

FRESH BLUEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Mix the blueberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, the flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and Cassis in a large bowl. Carefully ease one pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, making sure not to stretch the dough or it will shrink as the pie bakes. With a sharp knife, cut the excess dough off at the edge of the pie plate. Spoon the blueberry mixture into the pie shell, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula to be sure you include all the juices.
• Brush the edge of the crust with the egg wash. Carefully lay the second crust on top, again easing - not stretching - it onto the pie. Cut the excess dough off at the edge of the pie plate. Press the edges together with a dinner fork or crimp with your fingers. Brush the top crust with the egg wash, cut three slits for steam to escape and sprinkle with sugar.
• Place the pie on the prepared sheet pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until the filling is very bubbly and the crust is nicely browned. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.
• Cut the butter in 1/2-inch dice and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump the dough out on a floured board and turn it into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece out on a well-floured board into a 12- to 13-inch circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board.

BLUEBERRY-LEMON PIE WITH A BUTTER CRUST

Steps:

• For the flaky butter pie crust: Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry blender until the largest pieces are the size of small peas and the mixture begins to clump on the pastry blender. Shuffle through the mixture with your hands, pinching chunks of fat to flatten them.
• Stir the vinegar and 5 tablespoons ice water together in a bowl. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir with a fork. Pinch a clump of dough in your hands: If it feels moist and clumps together easily, it's probably hydrated enough. If it feels really crumbly, add another tablespoon or two of ice water until you can form a baseball-size clump of dough, packing it on as if you were making a snowball.
• Divide the dough in half and form each half into a flat disk. Wrap both disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• Thirty minutes before you're ready to roll out the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature to soften. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the blueberry filling: In a bowl, toss the blueberries with the sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest and juice and mix until combined.
• Dust a worktop and rolling pin with flour. Roll out one dough disk a little less than 1¿4 inch thick, about 14 inches in diameter. Fold the dough in half and transfer it to a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Unfold. Press the dough into the corners, leaving the overhang for now. Refrigerate the first crust while you roll out the second disk of dough.
• Remove the bottom crust from the refrigerator and fill it with the berry mixture. Tuck the pats of cold butter beneath the top layer of berries. Top with the second piece of dough, and trim both to a 1/2-inch overhang around the pie. Tuck the overhang into a roll and crimp the edge, pressing down to hook some of the dough over the edge of the dish, holding the pie. Cut a hole in the center of the pie, as well as some decorative vents.
• Brush the top of the pie with cream and dust it with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes. Cover the edges of the pie with foil and continue to bake until the center juices bubble and thicken, 25 to 35 minutes more.
• Let the pie cool until it is just warm to the touch before slicing and serving. Top with ice cream.

CANADIAN SASKATOON PIE

Steps:

• Bring saskatoon berries and water to a simmer; cook for 15 minutes. Drain any excess water; set aside to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk 1/2 cup sugar and tapioca together in a bowl. Stir tapioca mixture and lemon juice into berries.
• Line a 9-inch pie plate with a single crust; pour berry mixture into crust. Dot berries with butter. Place top crust over berries; crimp edges of pie together tightly. Brush top of pie with egg white.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove pie from oven, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar, and return to the oven until pie is golden and filling is bubbly, about 10 minutes.

HELEN GOUGEON'S PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Wash the peas, removing any that are wrinkled. Soak overnight in water to cover. Drain.
• In a large pot, melt the butter. Saute the onion until softened slightly, about 2 minutes.
• Add the peas, salt, salt pork, water and savoryBring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the salt pork is tender.
• Remove the pork. (Chop up the salt pork and put it back into the soup, or slice it thickly and serve it as a main course with warm bread and pickles.)
• Continue to cook the soup, covered, until the peas are tender, about 30 minutes longer.
• Remove 2 cups (500 mL) peas from the soup and press though a sieve or puree. Stir back into the soup. (This gives a richer, less watery texture.)
• Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.

BLUEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• SPRINKLE berries with lemon juice; set aside.
• FIT half of pastry in a 9-inch pieplate according to package directions.
• COMBINE 1 cup sugar and next 3 ingredients; add to berries, stirring well.
• Pour into pastry shell, and dot with butter.
• UNFOLD remaining pastry on a lightly floured surface; roll gently with rolling pin to remove creases in pastry.
• Place pastry over filling; seal and crimp edges.
• Cut slits in top of crust to allow steam to escape.
• Brush top of pastry with beaten egg, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar BAKE at 400° for 35 minutes or until golden.
• Cover edges with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning, if necessary.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.