Maine Blueberry Pie

Pastry for a 2-crust pie:

• 4 cups blueberries 
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1 cup sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 
• 2 tablespoons flour 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• dash of salt

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Line pie plate with pastry. Mix sugar and flour; spread about ¼ of it on lower crust. Fill with blueberries. Sprinkle remainder of sugar mix over them. Add salt, sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. Dot with butter. Place top crust on pie, flute edges, and cut slits. Bake for 40 minutes.

Two-Crust Pie:

• 1 ¾ cups unsifted flour 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup vegetable oil 
• 3 tablespoons cold water

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Using spoon, dip flour from container into cup, level with spatula—there is no sifting. Turn flour into bowl. Add salt and stir to mix. Blend in oil thoroughly with a fork.

Sprinkle all the water over mixture, and, again, mix very well. Press the dough firmly into a ball. If too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons more oil.

Divide dough almost in half: roll larger piece and fit bottom pastry into pan as for 1-crust pie. Fill, then roll top pastry. Peel off top paper, cut slits in pastry, using a paring knife. Place pastry, paper side up over filling, and peel off paper. Fold top crust under bottom crust. Seal and flute edge.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes according to filling of pie. An apple pie usually bakes 50 to 60 minutes. After the crust is brown on any pie, lower the temperature to 350°F.

From Cooking Down East by Marjorie Standish