I put together two recipes to make this pie – one I thought had too much butter, the other too much sugar. I think I got to a happy medium, although I still want to try reducing the sugar in the filling maybe a bit more (3/4-2/3 cup), to see if there’d be more tang from the buttermilk.
Crust: (a.k.a. Deb’s no fail piecrust)
1 1/2 cups flour
good pinch salt, unless you’re using salted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter, either salted or un- (1 stick, 8 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening or lard
1 tablespoon sugar
2-4 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen blueberries (see note*)
3/4 cup flour, divided
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
A few grates of fresh nutmeg; about 1/2 teaspoon
Make the crust: measure the flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer (my favorite method), your food processor, or a mixing bowl. Slice the butter and shortening over the top and combine with the flour mixture, using the paddle attachment of the mixer, by pulsing the processor, or using a pastry blender, 2 knives or your fingers, until you have a crumbly mixture with no butter lumps bigger than currants. With the mixer or processor running, or while stirring with fork, drizzle in the water by tablespoons, until the mixture just starts to come together in clumps. Stop before you have one big ball. Turn the crust out onto a floured surface and knead lightly to bring it together. Gather it into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap (in plastic, wax paper, one of your reusable snack/sandwich bags), and chill for about an hour, and up to 2 days.
When you’re ready to bake, roll out the crust and fit it into a deep 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges. Set it in the freezer or fridge to chill while you make the filling.
Heat the oven to 425° with a rack in the bottom third. Place a baking sheet or pizza pan large enough to hold the pie and catch drips on the rack, and let it get hot too.
Make the filling: Toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup flour. Combine the remaining 1/2 flour and sugar in a bowl, and whisk in the melted butter. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla, and grate in the nutmeg. Pour the filling into the crust – it helps to take it out of the freezer, first <grin>. Sprinkle the blueberries on top. Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet, close up the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350º, and bake for about 25 minutes until the filling is set.
*note: Usually when you thaw frozen blueberries you get a lot of blue juice that really dyes the dish. I tried the thaw-the-berries-in-a-strainer trick, and that worked great. I was surprised how luscious the frozen berries were baked in the filling!