Blueberry crostata: a recipe

Blueberry crostata

I almost feel like a cheater, posting this recipe.

Why? Because it's so close to my tried-and-true short-cut fruit galette recipe.

But I just had to post because not only was it a crowd-pleasing dessert, it also facilitated some cool moments / realizations.

First: I made them with my brother.

I can say with certainty that I have never before in my life made anything in the kitchen with my brother. Yes, we deep-fried a turkey in the driveway together last year but that's not really quite the same, is it? So this was a cool first-time experience, made even more hilarious when he said he felt "ninja-like" during the process.

Second: My 12-year-old nephew is interested in cooking so he joined in the action. I barely knew how to boil water when I left college, for cripes's sake, let alone make a snazzy dessert as a pre-teen, so I'm jazzed by his interest.

Third: We made the crostata with blueberries that we all picked earlier in the day at Owl's Head Blueberry Farm, so it was a great example of farm-to-table cooking for my nephews and niece. Hey, you can't start planting the seeds too early, right?

Fourth: I shared my kitchen and made a dish with other people. This is huge for me. What Julia Ate started a discussion on Facebook recently about whether or not her readers liked to team-cook or not. I was pleasantly surprised and secretly relieved to read that I'm not alone in preferring to cook for people but not with them. Always good to get validation that you are not just a freak...

So huzzah for a simple dessert full of achievements and insights.

Blueberry Crostata (adapted from Joy the Baker)

Ingredients
1/2 quart (or so) fresh blueberries
1 15-oz package refrigerated pie crusts
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
Sugar

Directions
Cut each log of pie crust dough into four equal pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a ball (you will have 8 balls). With a rolling pin, roll each ball out into a thin circle of about 6 inches.

Whisk the egg and the milk together in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the surface of each dough circle. Heap a generous amount of berries into the center of each circle, leaving about a 1-inch edge of dough all the way around. Fold the dough toward the center, pressing gently to seal at about 1-inch intervals. Brush the dough folds with the remaining egg wash. Very generously sprinkle sugar onto the dough folds and down into the berries.

Bake at 400 degrees on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes or until the dough is golden and the berries are juicy and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

(Note: These are yummy topped with a little vanilla ice cream.)