Any Santa Maria Style Barbecue aficionado knows that the traditional dessert to pair with the local barbecue is strawberry pie, shortcake or some sort of strawberry delicacy. This is largely because Santa Maria Valley is famed for its acres upon acres of sweet, juicy strawberries that are shipped the world over. The area’s strawberries bring more money per acre than any other area crop, including wine grapes.
In the last few years, however, the supremacy of strawberries and grapes as the royalty of local agriculture is being challenged by a growing crop of newcomers — raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
Word has it that berry production that used to be heavy around Oxnard and Ventura is being pushed out by urban growth and the high cost of water, and so berries are now moving north throughout Santa Barbara County, with pockets of heavier production in the Santa Maria Valley. Prices remain high for blueberries, blackberries and raspberries giving some growers an incentive to make room for “the other berries.”
Enter U-Pick Blueberries, a farm located at 3607 Dominion Road in Santa Maria that’s open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The farm says that its bushes are loaded with berries this season.
But when it comes to a dessert to pair with Santa Maria Style Barbecue, can strawberries and blueberries happily co-exist? A recipe from loriesmississippikitchen.com says “yes”:
Fresh Strawberry and Blueberry Pie
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
The zest of one medium orange
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 unbaked pie crust plus enough pie crust scraps to make decorative cutouts for top
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together the blueberries, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and orange zest in a large bowl. Pour into an unbaked 9-inch pie crust. Cut butter into small pieces and dot the top of the fruit.
Roll out the remaining pie crust scraps and cut shapes using cookie cutters dipped in flour. (I used different sized star shaped cutters.) Place the shapes on top of the pie in a decorative pattern.
Beat together the egg and water. Lightly brush the mixture onto the pie crust shapes and around the perimeter of the crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 50-55 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Let cool on wire rack completely before cutting.
