A Favorite Summer Dessert

We think blueberry pie (or crostata or galette, as the case may be) is the perfect finale for summer dinners out on the porch. You can use any dough, really, and any fruit, or a combination of fruits. But I love blueberries best.

Here's the dough recipe I use, from The New York Times:

• 1 ⅓ cups/165 grams all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon/15 grams sugar
• ½ teaspoon/3 grams fine sea salt
• 1 large egg
• Heavy cream, as needed
• 1 stick/113 grams unsalted butter, cut into big pieces
• 2 teaspoons/10 milliliters lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon/4 grams grated lemon zest (optional)

1. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, or in a large bowl, pulse or mix together flour, sugar and salt. In a measuring cup, lightly beat the egg, then add just enough cream to get to ⅓ cup. Lightly whisk the egg and cream together.

2. Add butter to flour mixture and pulse or use a pastry cutter or your fingers to break up the butter. If using a food processor, do not over-process; you need chickpea-size chunks of butter. Drizzle the egg mixture (up to ¼ cup) over the dough and pulse or stir until it just starts to come together but is still mostly large crumbs. Mix in lemon juice and zest if using.

3. Put dough on lightly floured counter and pat it together to make one uniform piece. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours, or up to 3 days.

4. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough out to a 12-inch round (it can be ragged). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill while preparing the filling.

For the filling, this is generally what I do:

Gently toss together about 3 cups of blueberries with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, about 1/4 sugar, the zest of one lemon, and about 2 tablespoons cornstarch.

Carefully pile the fruit filling in the middle of your rolled-out dough, then pinch a low wall of the dough around the fruit to keep it from spilling out.

Glaze the dough with a brushing of milk and sprinkle it and the top of fruit with turbinado sugar for a sweet crunch.

Cook:

Pop into the oven for 35-40 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is browned.

Serve warm, as-is or with vanilla (or pecan) ice cream. 

You can make one large galette, or about six individual ones with the dough.

Try to save some for breakfast!