Thursday, December 19, 2013

"Erica" pie, a bioregional dessert



Here is a regionally inspired recipe for wild berry pie. You can think of it as a huckleberry pie with greater fruit variety and an acorn flour crust. I call it “Erica” pie because Salal and the various huckleberries and blueberries are all in the Heath family, which is known to botanists as Ericaceae.










Acorn Crust (top and bottom for 9” pie)
1.5 cups acorn flour
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup ice cold water

“Erica” Filling
1 cup Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
1 cup Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium)
1 cup Black Huckleberry (V. membranaceum)
1 cup Evergreen Huckleberry (V. ovatum)
1 cup Cascade Blueberry (V. deliciosum)
1/2 cup acorn flour
½ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Pinch of salt

Blend acorn flour, all-purpose flour, and salt together and then mix in the coconut oil (or butter) with a pastry knife. Add 1/3 cup water and mix briefly, and then slowly add the additional 1/3 cup water while mixing slowly and deliberately. Stop adding water as soon as all the dough can be clumped into one large ball without falling apart. Cut the ball in half and roll each half into a new ball. Then squish each into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 to several hours. Roll the bottom crust out on a piece of foil or parchment and place it in a pie pan, trimming the excess with a knife and poking a few fork holes in the bottom of the crust. Mix the berries, flour, syrup, oil, and salt for the filling, and pour into the pie pan. Roll out the top crust and place over the fruit, pinching the top and the bottom crusts together. Cut several slits in the top crust to allow hot air to escape. 

Bake the pie for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Allow the pie to cool for another hour or two before serving.

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