Mangia Bene!: Blueberry Turnovers

Good things can come wrapped in pie crust - in this case, freshly picked wild blueberries. Squares of simple pie crust are filled with a dollop of blueberry compote, folded and sealed, brushed with beaten egg, sprinkled with sugar, and baked to golden perfection.

Pie Crust:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tblsp. cold water

Filling:

1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup sugar

Glaze:

1 egg, beaten
Granulated or raw sugar

Whipped Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1 tblsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Turnovers:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare pie crust as follows: Mix flour and salt until blended. Add oil and stir with fork until mixture resembles small pea-sized crumbs. Add water and stir until combined. Bring mixture together into a ball with your hands. Roll out between two sheets of waxed paper until you have a piece partially resembling a rectangle, like so.

Cut this rectangle-like shape into 4 inch squares. Don't bother measuring, just cut to whatever size looks right to you. I made about 14 turnovers altogether.

To make the blueberry filling, mix the blueberries and the sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar is melted and the whole mixture looks like a thick syrup. Try not to crush the berries. The filling should look like this:

Scoop about a teaspoon of filling (not too much, not too little) in the center of each square of pie crust. Wet the corners with a bit of water and fold over one corner to make a triangle. Use a fork to seal the edges together. Place on a greased baking sheet.

To make the glaze, beat the egg in a little bowl and gently brush the turnovers with the egg. Sprinkle the sugar (granulated or raw - raw is usually prettier, but I didn't have any) on the turnovers. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the whipped topping, measure out the heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar into a mixing bowl. Beat at top speed while covering the bowl so the cream doesn't splash everywhere. After a few minutes the mixture should be fluffy and standing up in gentle peaks when you scoop a spoonful up. The cream will look like this: