Blueberry Pie with Polenta Shortcake Crust #FridayPieDay

A buttery polenta shortcake crust filled with fresh blueberries makes a beautiful dessert for family but it’s pretty enough for special guests.

When I was in university studying journalism with some public relations and graphic design thrown in, we still used picas (1 pica=12 point) as a measure of column width. We talked about leading (the space between the lines of type) and kerning (the space between the letters) and column inches. I’m guessing that those designing newspapers still do. What I didn’t realize is that the origin of the word pica is connected with another of my favorite words: Pie!

pie (n.2)

"magpie," mid-13c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French pie (13c.), from Latin pica "magpie" (see magpie). In 16c., a wily pie was a "cunning person." Source: EtymOnline

Yeah, I’m kind of a word wonk. One of my favorite parts of reading cookbooks, magazines and blogs from other countries is learning all the different ways we refer to the same sorts of dishes, like pies and tarts. Even the variety of things that are called pie, both savory and sweet, baked and fried, handheld or baked in a pie plate, is enormous.

Last January I was blessed with the gift of the digital UK edition of delicious. magazine for my birthday. Each month I scroll through the gorgeous photographs and mark the recipes I’d like to try, either as written or adapted to our own tastes. As soon as I saw the recipe they called Blueberry Polenta Shortcake, I said to myself, “Shortcake?! That’s pie! It has two crusts!”

Adapted from delicious. magazine, UK digital edition, August 2015

Ingredients
For the crust:
1 2/3 cups or 210g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup or 150g chilled unsalted butter
1/2 cup or 100g polenta or fine cornmeal
2/3 cup or 150g fine sugar
Finely grated zest 1 large orange
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

For the filling:
2 1/2 cups or 340g fresh blueberries, plus a couple extra for decoration
5 teaspoons sugar
Good pinch salt
1 heaped tablespoon polenta or fine cornmeal

To sprinkle on before baking
1 tablespoon demerara sugar

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Use some non-stick spray or a little oil to grease the inside of your 9 in or 23cm spring form pan. Cut a piece of parchment just bigger than the base so you can cover up past where the sides and bottom of the pan join.

Cut the butter into cubes and add it to your food processor with the flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse until you have sandy looking crumbs.

Add in the polenta, sugar and orange zest and pulse again briefly.

Add in the egg mixed with the orange juice and pulse again until a dough starts to form.

Tip it out onto a floured surface. It's going to look fairly crumbly but should hang together as you knead it.

Knead it a turn or two.

Cut a little more than 1/3 of the dough or 250g off and wrap it with cling film. Put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Press the rest of the dough into the bottom and at least an inch or 2cm the sides of your prepared baking pan. Just keep working on it till it's nice and even.

Remove all little stems, if any, from your blueberries and pour them into the bottom crust.

Mix the good pinch of salt with the sugar and heaped spoon of polenta then sprinkle them over the blueberries.

Draw a circle the size of your baking pan on a large piece of baking parchment. Roll the chilled dough out between that one and another piece of parchment until it’s a little bigger than the circle. Try to peel the parchment off. If it’s too sticky, pop the rolled dough back into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

Cut the dough out around the circle and peel one side of the parchment off.

Turn the pastry over and gently ease the pastry circle onto the blueberries and bottom crust, pressing down gently to remove air from underneath. Push the crust in at the sides, peeling the top parchment sheet off as you go.

Decorate with a few more blueberries, if desired, and sprinkle on the demerara sugar. As you can see, I also made some little balls with the pastry scraps but they just baked into the crust so you really don't need to bother.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until the top crust is golden.

Allow to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and then run a thin knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the crust.

Open the spring form pan and carefully remove the pie to a wire rack. Leave to cool completely before cutting.

The golden bottom

Enjoy!

This blueberry pie with polenta shortcake crust 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 is sharing a round up of beautiful pies that would perfect for your Thanksgiving celebration! Do go over and have a look.

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

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Party Pecan Pie

A sticky, sweet pecan pie in a flakey crust, sized perfectly for parties. There can never be enough pecan pie when you are feeding a crowd. This guy is perfect for Mardi Gras parties, showers, tailgating and especially Thanksgiving or Christmas buffets.

Today we are celebrating Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook who is expecting her second baby very soon by sharing recipes that are great for family occasions. Lauren is a sweetheart so even though it meant double posting today, I had to join the party, ably organized by Tara of Tara’s Multicultural Table.

I’ve made this large pie several times over the last few years, mostly to take to Mardi Gras parties, but it works for any event and recently made the traveling team for my dad’s 80th birthday party as a road trip/hotel snack. Because that’s how we roll in my family.

Make sure you scroll on down to the bottom and see all the other great recipes we are sharing in Lauren's honor today!.

Ingredients
For the crust:
3 1/2 cups or 440g flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup or 300g shortening (I use Crisco.)
Cold water (Added by tablespoons just till the dough just holds together. Maybe 8-10, but use as little as you can get away with. This makes a flakier crust.)

For the filling
1 lb 5 oz or 600g pecan pieces
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups or 250g sugar
2 1/4 cups or 530ml Karo or other light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter in small pats

Method
Cut the shortening into the flour and salt with a pastry blender until you have small crumbles.

Add the cold water a tablespoon or two at a time and mix in lightly with a fork after each addition. Stop when the dough will just hang together.

Flatten the dough ball and wrap tightly in cling film. Refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 300°F or 149°C and cut a piece of foil that will fit an approximately 12x16 in or 30x41cm pan, including covering up the sides.

Roll your dough out as thinly as possible on the foil, leaving just a little space around the edges. If it's sticky, lay a big piece of cling film on top or dust with some more flour.

Fit the dough-covered foil into the pan.  Roll the tops of the dough down and crimp to create a decorative edge.

Dock the sides and bottom of the crust with a fork.

In a large bowl, whisk your eggs and sugar together well until the sugar is almost all dissolved. Add the Karo and salt and whisk again until completely combined.

Add in the pecans and stir well.

Pour your filling in the pie crust and top with small pieces of butter.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes in your preheated oven, until the pie is just set.

Allow to cool completely before attempting to cut the pie into squares. Store in an airtight container with each layer separated by wax paper or baking parchment.

Enjoy!

Here’s wishing much joy to Lauren and her expanding family! We hope you enjoy all of the special recipes we are sharing in your honor today, Lauren!

• Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms by I am a Honey Bee
• Candied Walnuts by Love and Confections
• Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Hasselback Sweet Potatoes by Curious Cuisiniere
• Oatmeal Maple Scones by Life on Food
• No Bake Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake by Caleigh's Kitchen
• Party Pecan Pie by Food Lust People Love
• Pecan Pie by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Pumpkin Spice Skillet Cinnamon Roll with Maple Browned Butter Glaze by Cooking with Carlee
• Quince-Chevre Crostata by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

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Cheese Shallot Potato Pie #FridayPieDay

Modeled on a Lancashire cheese and onion pie, this Cheese Shallot Potato Pie has a decidedly French accent with the substitution of Cantal for the Lancashire cheese and shallots for the onions. I sliced in some waxy potatoes to make the pie a little heartier and added cheese to the shortcrust for even more flavor, both good decisions.

Last week I was staying with dear friends in the Lot-et-Garonne region of France. Daily trips to the markets were de rigueur as was a bunch of cooking and baking in their gorgeous big kitchen. Boy, did we eat well! The first night we arrived, there was a special meal of confit de canard accompanied by golden crispy potatoes roasted in duck fat. 

The next evening it was a vivid paella with chorizo, merguez, chicken and prawns. Yet another dinner boasted a festival of sausages (lamb, duck, horse, horse, pig, pig and pig – of different styles and spices) with lentil salad and a Champagne tasting.

Of particular note, on the last night, we finished with Caroline’s Nectarine Crumble, a baked delight of sweet nectarines lavished with rum, topped with crispy crumble and served with ridiculously thick Normandy cream.

Lunches were myriad cheeses, fresh bread, fabulous salads, the most amazing summer tomatoes and fruit. And, because I had thumbed my way through The Good Cook* by Simon Hopkinson, two tarts. The first one, this one, was named My Mother’s Lancashire Onion Pie so I should properly call this Not Simon Hopkinson’s Mother’s Lancashire Onion Pie. But I thank him kindly for the inspiration. 

The second one already started out with a French bent - Roquefort cheese and leeks – to which I added some thinly sliced cauliflower. You can find that recipe here: Cauliflower Leek Roquefort Tart.  

Cheese Shallot Potato Pie

This recipe is adapted from one in Simon Hopkinson's The Good Cook. See links above. The friends I was staying with owned it but there were so many great recipes that I do now as well. Highly recommend! 

Ingredients
For the pastry crust:
2 1/2 cups or 315g self-rising flour  (or the same amount of all-purpose flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder added)
3 1/2 oz or 100g strong semi-hard cheese, grated (I used Cantal Entre Deux.)
3⁄4 cup or 140g unsalted butter, cold
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:
4-5 whole large shallots
2 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
12 1/3 oz or 350g strong semi-hard cheese, grated (See link above for my cheese of choice.)

Method
First we’ll make the pastry for the crust and leave it to chill. Put flour, grated cheese and salt in a big bowl. Mix well.

Cut the cold butter in chunks and add to the flour/cheese mixture.

Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. You are looking for a soft sandy crumble but you can leave some larger pieces.

Add cold water a tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between with the tines of a fork, until the dough just comes together. Tip it out on a clean work surface and press it together.

Knead briefly then cut the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap them both in cling film and refrigerate while you get on with the filling.

Peel and finely chop your shallots. Peel and finely slice your potatoes.

Add the butter and olive oil to skillet and sauté the shallots and potatoes for a few minutes. Add a small splash of water and cover the pan and simmer for about 5-7 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked.  Season with a sprinkle of fine sea salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and put a flat baking pan big enough to hold your pie plate in to preheat as well.

Cover your clean work surface with cling film and sprinkle lightly with flour.

Remove the larger piece of dough from the refrigerator and press it into a flat disk on your prepared work surface. Flour it lightly and cover it with another sheet of cling film. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry into circle 1⁄8 inch thick and about 2 inches larger all around than your large pie plate.

Use the cling film base to lift the pastry circle and ease it into your pie plate, leaving the edges hanging off. Prick the pie crust with a fork all over the bottom and sides.

Add the grated filling cheese to the cooled skillet and gently mix it together with the shallots and potatoes, trying not to break the potatoes up.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and spread it around evenly.

Recover your work surface with cling film, sprinkle on some flour and repeat the process of rolling out the top crust.

Cover the filling with the top crust, fold any excess under with the bottom crust, and crimp the edges to hold them together. Cut three or four long slits in the top crust to let the steam out.

Bake in your preheated oven, on top of the flat pan, for about 50-55 minutes or until you see the filling bubbling up a little through the slits and the crust is lovely and golden.

Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

FridayPieDay is the brilliant invention of Heather from girlichef and 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.

Today we’ve both gone savory. Follow this link to see her wonderful Zucchini and Tomato Pie.

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

*Amazon affiliate link - If you buy the book by following my link, I earn a little small change from the sale, at no extra cost to you.

Fresh Peach Pie #FridayPieDay

The only thing that smells better than a big bowl of ripe peaches is this old-fashioned peach pie baking in the oven. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some thick pouring cream. 

A couple of days ago, I went for what I call the annual mashing, that is to say, a mammogram. (If you are of the female persuasion and haven’t gone for your well-woman check up in the last year – Just do it! Make the appointment and GO. And do your monthly self breast checks.) I rewarded myself with a stop on the way home at the farmers’ market to buy shelled Texas pecans, peaches, homegrown tomatoes, eggplant and fresh purple-hull peas. I love, love, love fresh peas, which are so hard to find the rest of the year. For dinner that evening, I cooked them simply with garlic, sea salt, black pepper and some smoked paprika. I grilled the eggplant on a griddle pan and made a delicious garlicky salad with the homegrown tomatoes.

And the peaches - oh, the fragrant peaches! - were destined for pie! Since it’s the last Friday of the month, I am once again joining my friend, Heather of girlichef for Friday Pie Day. Last month I shared an almond plum tarte tartin made with puff pastry but I really wanted to make a traditional pie with short crust this month.

I brought this baby on the road to Louisiana yesterday to visit my aunt and two uncles in New Iberia. I haven’t been to my Louisiana birthplace since a couple of summers ago when my grandmother passed away but it feels good to be here, in such a familiar place, with people who love me, have the same sense of humor and know all the family history and, most importantly, secrets. Where a person can buy spicy boudin and hog head cheese at the local butcher. Where grey Spanish moss hangs in wispy strands from ancient live oaks along a lazy bayou flanked by historic mansions. Where one can get local blue point crabs by the extra spicy half dozen at all the seafood restaurants. Yes, it’s good to be home home. Even if I am missing Gram.

Ingredients
Double recipe of shortcrust pastry – from this link here or use your own favorite crust recipe for a two-crust pie.
2 lbs 9 oz or 1100g whole fresh peaches (995g or 2 lbs 3 oz, pitted or about six cups once sliced.)
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 small lemon (for 2 tablespoons juice and zest)
1/3 cup or 40g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons butter

Method
First make the pie crust dough and divide it into two pieces, one slightly bigger than the other. Cover them both in cling film and refrigerator while you get on with the rest of the pie.

Pit and slice your peaches thinly. You can peel them first if you want but I like the look of the slivers of red and I like the way they color the pie filling when baked.

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C.

Add the sugar, flour and salt to the sliced peaches then zest in the lemon and add the juice. Stir well.

Roll out the bigger piece of piecrust and line your pie plate.

Pour the peach filling in and add the butter in small pats.

Roll out the top crust and cut three or four slits in it.

Top the peach filling with the pastry and trim the edges.

Fold the pastry under and crimp the edges.

Bake in your preheated over for about 45 or 50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Speaking of bubbling, I suggest you put a piece of heavy duty foil or another baking pan under the pie while baking, because the chances of it dripping over are pretty darn good. Another tip: Cover it with foil if the crust gets too dark before the baking time is up.

Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or heavy pouring cream. I didn't have any for the photos but you can trust me that there was ice cream for the real serving.

Enjoy!

FridayPieDay is the brilliant invention of Heather from 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.

Today, Heather is also sharing a peach pie recipe but she upped the game with the addition of blueberries! Check out her gorgeous Blueberry Peach Pie with Cornmeal Streusel and Crust!

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