Cuisine – Warm winter pies

I’ve never been a fan of apple strudel, apple pies from the bakery or the fruity bits in yoghurt. I like fresh fruits with firm textures. I don’t like squidgy preserved fruit at all, though I must say I am not adverse to jams. But the recipe I’m sharing here has turned my distaste for soft fruits upside down. I absolutely adore this pie, and so do my friends and family. I know this because not just second, but third helpings need to be plated up. This warm fruit pie is an autumn and winter winner, best served hot from the oven after a roast meal. Please try it. You won’t regret it and neither will the other guests at your dinner table.

Granny’s Apple and Berry Pie

400g sweet shortcrust pastry
6 large Braeburn apples, peeled and cored
One large handful of fresh or frozen berries of your choosing
½ cup of plain flour
¾ cup raw sugar
1tsp cinnamon
1TB milk for glazing
3TB water
Warm custard or fresh cream to serve with your pie

Put your oven on bake at 220 degrees. Defrost your pastry and dust your bench with half of the flour. Roll out one of your pastry sheets (in the flour) to cover the bottom and sides of a 20cm round pie tin or dish. Before placing your pastry in to your pie tin, make sure the tin has been greased with butter.

Take your peeled and cored apples. Slice them into very thin slices and place them in a bowl. Roughly chop up the berries and throw them in the bowl too. Add your raw sugar and cinnamon, saving a tiny bit of both to sprinkle over the top of your pie at the end. Drizzle over your water and mix thoroughly.

Neatly cover your pie base with the fruit mixture. You want to place everything in evenly and tightly. It doesn’t matter if the fruit sits a bit higher than the sides of your pastry base as it will cook down.

Once your fruit is in, you can roll out the second piece of pastry on the remainder of your flour. Before sitting this pastry on top, you must wet the sides of your base with water so that the overlapping pastry will stick. Once on top, cut around the edges of the dish so there is no pastry hanging over the sides. You can roll the extra pastry out and make leaves or hearts for your lid, just be sure to stick them down with water. Once complete, poke approximately five holes in the lid of your pie with a sharp knife. Brush the top of your pie with the milk, throw over the remaining cinnamon and sugar and place in the oven for 15-20mins. Make sure the pie is in the middle of the oven so it doesn’t get burnt. Once your pie has had approximately 20 minutes on a high heat, turn the oven down to 180 degrees and bake for a further 30 minutes. Serve with fresh cream or warm custard. Enjoy!

Nicola Bolton
rosierambino@outlook.com