Most of the huckleberries I picked with Lessa turned into a beautiful huckleberry tart.  I used the general recipe I’ve always used.  It’s from a combination of my mother, my grandmother, Julia Child, and me.  Can’t go wrong with that lineup, I think.  The recipe:

Crust (for a small tart - double this for a full pie):

1 cup flour, sifted

5.5 tablespoons cold butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

a few tablespoons cold water

lemon zest (optional)

Inside:

huckleberries or other fruit, enough to be piled into a high mound

sugar

cinnamon

dollops of butter

Combine all crust ingredients except the water.  Ideally, combine in a food processor, but if you’re doing it by hand, fluff them together until you have little flakes of buttery flour (or floury butter; your choice).  Slowly add the cold water.  If it’s in a food processor, the dough will turn into a ball entirely on its own if you’re adding water slowly through the top while the thing is running.  If you’re doing it by hand, just add cold water very slowly while mixing.  It should form a silky dough.  Coat the ball of dough with a dusting of flour and wrap in wax paper.  Refrigerate about 20-30 minutes.

Heat oven to somewhere in the 400-415 F range.  Roll out half your dough on a floured surface.  Place into a buttered, lightly floured tart pan or pie pan, and fit to the edges.  Prick it all over with a fork.  Bake until a little golden, about 15 minutes.  Take it out. 

Mix together cinnamon and sugar until you get a nice, tan cinnamony mixture.  Sprinkle a small layer of cinnamon sugar (maybe 1/8 inch?) in the bottom of the tart/pie pan.  Add most of the fruit.  Sprinkle on a little more cinnamon-sugar.  Add the rest of the fruit.  Sprinkle on a little more cinnamon-sugar and dot with bits of butter.  Set aside for the moment.

Make sure oven is at 415 F.  Take the rest of your dough and roll it out on a floured surface.  Cut it into thin strips, maybe 1/2 inch wide.  Starting at the middle of the pie/tart, place the strips across the pie, alternating directions with each strip, until you have the pie covered in a lattice.

Put pie/tart in oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes, then turn heat down to about 390.  Bake for about 40 more minutes until the juice is bubbling  up through the top and the top is golden.

Let cool at least slightly and serve.  It will be very juicy pie.  The second day it will hold its shape better, but still be juicy.  Juicy is good.

Enjoy!