Bubby’s Pie Co. – New York, NY – Fresh Blueberry Pie with Crème Fraiche
As soon as Penelope heard about Bubby’s she said, “That’s it! We were made for each other!” Of course she hasn’t actually met Bubby, and is sure that Bubby doesn’t yet know all that he should (and soon will learn) about Penelope. But that aside, Penelope knows a pie soul mate when she sees one.A Tribeca institution, Bubby’s Pie Co., has been around since 1990. It was founded by Chef Ron Silver who, even as a twenty-eight year old chef, was devoted to American home cooking, and especially pie.In 1990, after a few months of selling only wholesale pies, Bubby’s opened as a restaurant the day after Thanksgiving, cooking for artists and movie stars, and most importantly for teamsters, plus anyone else who liked family food. Seventeen years and about a million pies later, you can find Chef Ron at Bubby’s every day with hands in the pie.In 2003 Bubby’s opened a second location in DUMBO, Brooklyn, with a spot right on the East River between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. You can find out more about Bubby’s at Bubby’s Pie Co., order a Bubby’s pie, buy one of Bubby’s cookbooks, or if you’re in the neighborhood (120 Hudson Street) come in and see what’s going on in the kitchen, although since the expansion you don’t have to walk though it to wash your hands before you eat.
Bubby’s Fresh Blueberry Pie With Crème Fraiche
“Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb, / Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum / In the cavernous pail of the first one to come! / And all ripe together, not some of them green / And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!” —Robert Frost
Ingredients
Pastry for one-crust 9” pie (blind baked and golden - meaning pre-baked without any filling in it)
- 1 tablespoon egg white
- 1 cup crème fraiche
- 4 cups blueberries, sorted and cleaned
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons water + 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Make crème fraiche a day in advance, (or buy some any time before the sell by date)Make and blind-bake a pie crustCool crust a few minutes and, while the crust is still hot, brush the inside of the pie shell with a thin clear sheen of egg white. If any solidifies and turns white, get rid of it asap — a paper towel works well. Set aside.Rinse 4 cups of blueberries.Place 3 cups of the blueberries in a mixing bowl and set aside.Place the remaining cup of blueberries in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water and bring to boil. Simmer 3-4 minutes.In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and water until smooth.Add the cornstarch and water, sugar, and lemon juice to the sauce and stir until the starchy cloudiness goes and the sauce thickens to a shiny blue-black. (1 minute.)Pour the hot sauce over the fresh blueberries in bowl and stir gently until all blueberries are coated.Pour blueberries into the pie shell and let the pie rest for 2 hours at room temperature.It’ll last 2 days at room temperature, but is best the day it’s madeServe with crème fraîche
Adapted from Bubby’s Homemade Pies Cookbook, Ronald M. Silver and Jen Bervin, 2007
