Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie

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It’s Day Three of Mrs Portly’s Pie Week (and incidentally British Pie Week but that’s just the excuse) and maybe time to get a bit of fruit into our diets.

I love the combination of rhubarb and raspberries … it’s one of my favourite fruit crumbles … and the first of the rhubarb is already shooting up in the kitchen garden.

I used raspberries from the freezer but if you can get good fresh ones, by all means use them. If you do use frozen, defrost them in a sieve over a bowl to get rid of some of the juice, otherwise they’ll make the pie base too soggy.

For the same reason, this pie is best eaten within a few hours of it coming out of the oven. If that’s an issue for you, just make a pie with a lid but no base.

Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie

Ingredients for the pastry:

200g plain flour

50g cold butter, cubed

50g lard or white shortening, cubed (or use all butter)

Pinch of salt

3 tbsp cold water

1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Ingredients for the filling:

250g rhubarb, cut into short lengths

150g raspberries, defrosted and drained if frozen

50g caster sugar (plus more for the topping)

1 tbsp cornflour

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Put a baking sheet in the oven to heat up, placing it above the centre. Grease a shallow 22cm pie tin.

Make the pastry by rubbing the fats into the flour and salt until you get a breadcrumb consistency. Add the water and cut it in until the pastry comes together in a ball. Knead briefly to remove any cracks, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for half an hour.

Put the rhubarb chunks in a bowl, mix with the sugar and cornflour and leave to sit for 15 minutes: the cornflour helps stop the fruit juices flooding the pastry. Gently stir in the raspberries.

Dust a board with flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to line the pie dish. Put it back in the fridge while you roll out the remaining pastry to make the lid. Cut out small shapes with a flower or star cutter (for instance) to make a pattern around the lid, as in the picture above.

Place the filling in the lined pie tin and egg wash the edge of the pastry. Egg wash the lid before you put it on top otherwise you could smear fruit juices all over it. Put on the lid, trim the edges and crimp to seal. Egg wash the pastry cut-outs and place them on the pie. Scatter with caster sugar.

Place on the pre-heated baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5 and cook for another 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving, with ice cream or crème fraîche.