On our way home from visiting family several weeks ago, my Chief Recipe Taster and I went on a bit of a pilgrimage to one of our favorite places: Stateline Blueberries, a blueberry farm just a few miles from Lake Michigan. Despite having widely different childhoods, my Chief Recipe Taster and I both grew up eating blueberries grown on the shores of Lake Michigan, and to this day will swear until we’re, err, blue in the face that there are no better blueberries in the country. They’re so good, in fact, that we may or may not have bought 30 pounds and may or may not have arrived home with several pounds less than that. I feel strongly that summer fruits should be enjoyed as nature intended them—ripe and raw—so I was loath to cook with any of our berries, even to make dessert. But I did make an exception for one thing: a pretty much foolproof blueberry tart. You blitz the tart dough together in a food processor and then pat it into a pan, no rolling required, and it takes only a few minutes to bake. While the tart shell is cooling, you cook some of your blueberries until they’re a bit jammy and then fold in handfuls more. Scatter a few fresh blueberries on top, let the whole thing cool for a few minutes, and you’re done. The butter in the tart shell and a bit of lemon zest heighten the flavor of the berries, rather than obfuscate it. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and you have summer dessert perfection, even if you didn’t get your blueberries from the Lake Michigan shores.

Blueberry Tart

Sources: Adapted, just barely, from Martha Stewart

Serves 8 people

Active time: ~90 minutes; total time ~60 minutes

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling Ingredients:

• ~5 1/2–6 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Make the tart shell: Put the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of food processor and process until the dough forms large clumps. This will take more than a few pulses; keep going, and you’ll hear and see a change in the way the dough comes together. That’s your cue to stop processing.
• Transfer the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Working from the center out, firmly press the dough down and up the sides of the pan. Try to get it even, but don’t fuss if you can’t; just make sure all of the pan is covered by dough.
• Prick the dough with a fork and then put the tart shell in your freezer for at least 15 minutes.
• While the tart shell is chilling, center a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 375°F. When the tart shell is ready, place it in the oven and bake it for 20–25 minutes, or until it’s golden. Let the shell cool while you make the filling.
• Make the filling: Place 1 1/2 cups of blueberries and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the berries until they begin breaking down, 3–4 minutes.
• While the berries are cooking, mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water; add this to the berries in your saucepan and stir well to combine.
• Add the lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt to your saucepan, stirring well before increasing the heat to high and bringing the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer the mixture, stirring all the while, until it begins to thicken—this shouldn’t take more than a minute.
• Take the pan off the heat and add 3 1/2 cups of berries. Stir well to combine, then pour the berry mixture into the tart shell. Smooth the berries with a spatula, if needed, and then scatter on as many fresh blueberries as you’d like. Let the tart cool in your refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.