Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumble Topping

Wild blueberries are small and flavourful. They can be found fresh at farmers' markets and frozen at supermarkets and specialty foods stores. The little bit of almond in the topping amps up the flavour of the berries.

Pie Crust:
2½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1½ tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½" cubes
½ cup lard or frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into ½" cubes
5 Tbsp. ice water

Filling:
¾ cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
7 cups fresh wild or regular blueberries (32 oz) or 32 oz frozen wild or regular blueberries (do not thaw)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Topping:
⅔ cup all purpose flour, unbleached
4 oz marzipan or almond paste, broken into ⅓" pieces (about ¾ cup loosely packed)
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into ½" cubes
½ tsp. kosher salt

To Serve:
whipped cream or ice cream

Make the Pie Crust:
Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add 5 Tbsp. ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Make Ahead: Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Roll out pie crust disk on floured surface to 12" round. Transfer to 9" diameter glass pie dish. Turn crust edges under and crimp decoratively, forming crust edge ¼" above sides of pie dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.

For the Filling:
Whisk ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan to blend. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, frequently stirring gently, about 13 minutes. Chill filling until cool, about 1 hour. If more sweetness is desired, stir in sugar by Tbsp..

For the Topping:
Combine first 4 ingredients in processor; blend until mixture begins to clump together. Transfer to bowl; chill 30 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6). Position an oven rack in bottom third of the oven.

Spread blueberry filling evenly in unbaked crust. Sprinkle topping evenly over. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust and topping are golden and filling bubbles thickly, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Make Ahead: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Serve pie with whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes 8 servings.