For the pastry you need

300ml flour

50ml icing sugar

1ml salt

50ml yellow cornmeal (polenta), almond or chickpea flour, add this quantity cake flour

100ml butter, chilled in fridge

Thyme thriving in the garden1 large egg yolk mixed with 50ml ice cold water

To finish

1 egg white mixed with 50ml water

25ml granulated sugar

For the filling you need

500ml fresh or frozen blueberries

25ml cornflour, rice or potato flour

50ml castor sugar

Approximately 250ml ricotta cheese, well drained

5ml grated lemon zest

Optional: 10ml thyme leaves, I prefer using lemon thyme

To prepare the pastry

Place the flour, salt, icing sugar and polenta in a bowl of a food processor.

Pulse the blade to mix.

Cut the cold butter into a few chunks and add. Pulse it blade again to blend in the butter, now add the egg yolk and water. Pulse until the dough pulls away from the edges to form a ball.

Remove the dough and wrap it in plastic and place it in the fridge.

Note: you can prepare the dough to this stage up to a day in advance.

When you are ready to bake the pie, roll the pastry into a circle about 35cm in diameter. This is a little larger than a dinner plate.

The large plate is about 35cm …. red arrow The small plate about 22cm, allowing a good border

I like to roll the pastry straight onto a good quality baking paper or a silicone baking mat. Use a large plate to mark the diameter by drawing on the underside of the paper. Have a smaller plate handy to gently imprint the circle for the filling on the rolled pastry.

To prepare the filling

If using frozen berries do not defrost them. If using fresh berries rinse them and allow all the water to drain off.

Place the berries in a bowl and stir in the flour and sugar. If you are adding thyme, stir in the leaves.

Ensure that the ricotta cheese is ‘dry’. If it looks moist, place it in a clean dish towel in a sieve, to absorb excess moisture.

Stir in the lemon zest.

Spread the ricotta in approximately 20-25cm circle, leaving a border of at least 5cm all around.

Pile the blueberries on top of the ricotta.

Fold the pastry edges towards the centre of the pie to form a ‘wall’. You can simply fold it in and it will form natural ‘pleats’ or you can shape regular pleats around the edge.

Paint the pastry with the egg white mixture and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake at 180°C for 35-40

Bake at 180°C for 35-40 minutes, turning the baking tray half way to ensure even browning of the pastry.

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.