Blueberry and Lavender Pie with Hazelnut Crust - by Phoebe Woods and Kirsten Jenkins

Ingredients

"Unless someone stopped me I would try and put lavender in most desserts (lucky that Phoebe is here to stop me!). It's not a ‘herb' that you see used every day and if it's not used with restraint it can really taste like a potpourri sachet. Thankfully we did show restraint in this recipe and the combination of the blueberry, lavender and the earthy crust is just right. Make sure to use an edible variety of lavender." - Kirsten.

500g frozen or fresh blueberries
170g (3/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1 Tbs cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tsp crushed dried edible lavender
2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Hazelnut pastry:

250g (3 cups) hazelnuts, finely ground
100g (2/3 cup) gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour
75g caster (superfine) sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tbs water

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C (350 F).

For the hazelnut pastry, combine all the ingredients in a bowl to make a thick nutty paste. Using your hands, press the mixture into the base and side of a 21cm pie dish.

Bake for 10 minutes or until just dry then remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Cook the blueberries and sugar in a saucepan over high heat, stirring, for 10 minutes or until syrupy. Remove from the heat and mix the cornflour with 4 tablespoons of the blueberry mixture in a bowl until smooth. Stir the thickened cornflour into the rest of the blueberry mixture along with the lavender.

Cook for 5 minutes over low heat or until thickened. Cool slightly, then pour into the crust and place on a baking tray.

Cook for 30 minutes until bubbling and jammy.

Rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Credits: This is an edited extract from The Pie Project by Phoebe Woods & Kirsten Jenkins, published by Hardie Grant Books, RRP $29.99.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from The Pie Project by Phoebe Woods & Kirsten Jenkins, published by Hardie Grant Books, RRP $29.99.