Nigel Slater’s recipe for blueberry pie

I made a batch of soft, sweet pastry last weekend, its texture more like a shortcake, really. I rolled it out to fit an old-fashioned cast-iron pie tin, then stuffed it full of blueberries and redcurrant jelly. The tender pastry crumbled softly on the plate rather than sitting in a neat slice, for that is its nature, the fat crumbs soaking up the deep purple-black juices. I long to try it with apricots, too, or later in the summer with plums. We hid its untidiness on the plate with a trickle of double cream.

I tend to make pastry at this time of yearbefore the kitchen really heats up from the skylights that loom over the counter, melting the butter and burning my neck. Usually I rub the butter into the flour with my fingertips, but this recipe started by beating the butter and sugar together, then adding the flour, as if making shortbread.

The filling was blueberries, because they were on special offer at the shops, and I balanced their natural blandness with fruit jelly. You can use anything here, redcurrant, apple or even a fruit jam, though best to make it a tart one like plum or blackcurrant. The pie is at its best served warm, just left to settle a while once out of the oven, a good 25 minutes or so should be long enough.

The pie was to follow a round of pancakes that didn’t even make it to the table. As each plump little cushion of batter was ready, I lifted them on to plates and we ate them at the kitchen counter. Their surface blotched with gold and snippets of herbs, scented with tarragon and spring onion, their insides soft with ricotta and fluffed egg whites. We ate them with a fork. No knives needed.

Sometimes we topped the pancakes with spoonfuls of chilled ricotta or melted butter, neither of which was necessary, just a luxury, really. I had made them to accompany smoked salmon, though few of them got quite that far. They do not keep, these little pancakes, and the rule is to wolf them as soon as they come from the pan.

Ella Risbridger’s new book The Kitchen Book (4th Estate) has a chapter dedicated to dishes to be eaten at the kitchen counter. There’s a wonderful sounding recipe for tahini tomato toast where she spreads rye toast with Marmite, heaps on chopped tomatoes with olive oil and salt then a blanket of tahini and sesame seeds. It’s a fine cookbook, but I would happily read it just for Ella’s chatty, warm prose.

The pale and beautiful courgettes with soft green and white stripes are around again. Most often known as white or kousa, they are chubby and firm-fleshed and especially good for stuffing. I dip them in boiling water until they start to become translucent, then drain and stuff them with mozzarella, parmesan, chopped mint and basil before baking them until they are thoroughly tender and the cheese is oozing.

The fruit season is warming up nicely. I found some good apricots this week that I stoned, stuffed with marzipan and cooked under a hot grill. Also some locally grown strawberries that would be good with ricotta salata, the salty cheese grated in small shavings over the fruit. They also make a deeply fragrant salad with basil and a squeeze of lemon juice. There should be some decent cherries soon, too, and they would be a contender for the pie crust below. Though I would use cherry jam, morello, the sharp one, in place of the redcurrant jelly.

Serves 6. Ready in 90 minutes

Try not to overwork the pastry, gently pushing the soft dough into place in the tart tin and patching it where necessary. A jug of cream to pour over would be a splendid idea.

blueberries 600g
lemon juice 2 tbsp
cornflour 1 heaped tbsp
redcurrant jelly 2 heaped tbsp
butter 150g, plus extra for the tin
golden caster sugar 150g, plus a little more for dusting
plain flour 250g, plus a little extra
baking powder 1 tsp
egg 1, beaten
milk a little

You will need a pie tin measuring 20cm across the top. Heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Place a baking sheet in the oven.

Put the blueberries in a mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, cornflour and redcurrant jelly, toss together, then set aside.

Lightly butter the pie tin. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of a food mixer and beat until pale and fluffy, pushing the mixture down the sides from time to time with a rubber spatula. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Lightly beat the egg and incorporate, a little at a time, to the butter and sugar, adding some of the flour if it starts to curdle. Mix in the flour and baking powder to form a soft, rollable dough.

Flour the work surface or pastry board generously. Bring the dough together to form a ball, kneading lightly for a minute or two. Cut into 2 equal pieces and roll one out to fit the base of the pie plate. Line the dish with the pastry, ushering it into the corners, leaving some of it overhanging.

Add the filling, then roll out the second piece of dough large enough to fit over the top. Brush the rim of the pastry lining the dish with a little milk, then lower the pastry lid on top. Press the edges gently to seal, using either your fingers or the tines of a fork. Cut 2 small holes in the centre of the pastry, then brush the pastry with a little milk and dust with caster sugar.

Bake on the heated baking sheet for 35-40 minutes until deep golden. Leave to settle for 20 minutes before serving.