Rhubarb and Apple Pie

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, wonderful weather to spend the day at the allotment. This is only year two of our allotment and we're doing really well. We've got a lot of potatoes growing, some onions, strawberries, current bushes. And rhubarb. Which was absolutely ready for picking. 

The first decision was what to do with my fresh new rhubarb. Crumble? Pie? Jam? Cake? I made a ginger oat rhubarb crumble a few weeks ago, recipe courtesy of Sarah Brown, so I decided on a pie. 

The next decision sparked a debate on pie crusts. Lattice or cover? M and I had a rather serious discussion on what to do, his argument boiling down to the more pastry, the better so go with a cover. I, however, love the retro look of a lattice. It's more elegant and sophisticated. I was feeling like overindulging in unhealthy baked goods so, for today at least, I sided with him. I went with a full pie top, embellished the little leaves.

My first Christmas in England M's 91 year-old nan taught me how to make pastry. She can do it quite easily as her circulation is poor so her hands are always cold. In June, mine aren't. Needless to say, I used our brand new food processor to get the job done. The following pastry recipe is from her Be-Ro flour book. I double the recipe to get two crusts and found I had enough dough for a batch of jam tarts. 

225gr flour

50gr butter

50gr lard

25gr sugar

pinch salt

about 2 tbsp cold water.

The colder your above ingredients, the better your pastry. I start by pouring cold water into a jug and putting this in the freezer. Sift together flour and salt in a cold bowl. Measure butter and lard. Rub into flour (or pulse in food processor) until it looks like breadcrumbs.  Gradually add water, mixing until you have a soft dough. Pour into flour surface. Dust with flour, roll into disc shape and wrap in cling film. Put dough into the freezer to chill. In the meantime, make the pie filling.

300gr rhubarb chunks

250-300gr apples, peeled, cored and sliced

50gr brown sugar

25gr sultanas

3 tbsp cornflour

Combine all of the above in a bowl. When the crust is chilled, roll out and press into pie pan. Fill with fruit. Dot the filling with butter (this can be omitted if you wish). Layer on top crust and cut holes for steam. Bake at 375/gas 5 for about an hour, until fruit is bubbly and crust is brown. If your crust starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil and finish baking. Let cool. Can be served warm or room temperature.