Pie is overwhelmingly a winter and holiday favourite for many of us, however, at beige spring fruits and vegetables is the perfect pie time. Rhubarb is special; not sweet, not sour but a balance somewhere in-between and for those savoury souls like me out there, blended with berries is just the perfect subtile sweetness we need. I have been making rhubarb pie since I was a child when I grew it like weeds at my families country house. I needed to get creative in the thousand ways to use it all up when jam fatigue set in. And so, here is my childhood recipe for Rhubarb and Raspberry pie.
I hope you enjoy,
Ella.
RECIPE
For the pastry
- 1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 125g butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cooking salt
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
For the filling
- 1 large bunch of Rhubarb
- 1 Punnet fresh Raspberries (you can also use frozen but they lose some sweetness)
- 150g castor sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Method
To make the pastry, add dry ingredients to a bowl and mix well together.
Next, cube the butter, which should be cold from the fridge rather than room temperature. Add this to the dry ingredients and cream to make a breadcrumb texture with your hands.
Then add in the sour cream and kneed until the mixture forms a disk. Refrigerate for one hour.
Whilst the pastry is in the fridge, chop the stalks of the rhubarb and add to a saucepan on low heat with the sugar and cinnamon. Don’t be tempted to add more sugar – you want to keep the tart of the rhubarb intact.
As the rhubarb starts to change texture and liquify, take off the heat and fold in the berries. If you are using frozen berries keep on the heat for 2-4 minutes to allow the water from them to evaporate. Allow it to cool. The filling will almost set like jam.
Return to your pastry, and roll out into a flat circle until it is approximately 1.5cm thick. Using a pie dish, add parchment paper to the base to prevents sticking and lay your pastry over. Cut off the excess from around the edges and roll out again. This discard will form the lattice on top.
Finally pour the filling into the pie base, and cut the remaining pastry into spaghetti strips and lay criss-crossed over the pie.
Cook in a 180 degree oven with the fan on for 25 – 30 minutes. Allow the pie to cook for a set filling, or serve immediately for a jammy inside.
taking back beige 