Blueberry Goat Cheese and Basil Pie

 Doesn't this just sound awful?  I certainly thought it did.  I saw this pie on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  The people eating it raved about it and I just couldn't imagine how this could be good so I had to make it and see for myself.  My family has now declared it to be the best blueberry pie they've ever had. It's so strange but somehow the tanginess of the goat cheese brings out the flavor of the blueberries so it has a heightened blueberry flavor.  And the basil?  It just works!

 Make your favorite pie crust.  I made a pate' sucre.

 Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1/2 cup soft goat cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
• 5 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Instructions

• Prepare your crust.
• On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough out into a flat circle shape with a floured rolling pin. Fold the dough in half and gently transfer the dough to a 10-inch pie plate. Unfold to cover the plate. Trim the dough to the shape of the plate, leaving a bit of overhang and fold to make the crust edge. Crimp the edges.
• Prepare the topping by mixing together the almonds, sugar and melted butter in a small bowl.
• Transfer the filling to the rolled out pastry dough and sprinkle evenly with the almond topping. Bake in a preheated 375° oven on the middle rack, rotating part way through the baking time, for 35 to 45 minutes or until the filling has set and the pastry and almonds are nicely browned.
• Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes and then cover and chill for a few hours before serving.

***after having made this pie a bunch of times, i find that you need to bake it longer.  quite a bit longer.  he juices must be bubbling for it to be done.

 Bake it on a cookie sheet to catch spills.

I didn't cover it, I just sat it in the fridge for about 4 hours.

If you bake pies you really should try this.  This might be the only blueberry pie I will be making in the future.