The arrival of summer fruits is always synonymous in my head with the shedding of your winter wardrobe. As you shed the layers of woolly jumpers, boots and thermal socks there is the promise of something exciting in the offing.
Two fruits vie neck and neck for the top spot in our house.
Referring to my tried and tested *Pies and Flans book from M and S, each year the excitement mounts as I combine tart blackcurrants with sharp cooking apples to make an old fashioned topsy turvy pie. It is never particularly aesthetically pleasing but dive beneath the surface and top with unctuous clotted cream and it becomes a delectable delight.
Rub four ounces of margarine into eight ounces of plain flour and then add one ounce of caster sugar. Use one egg yolk and some cold water to bind together. Transfer to a pie plate and fill with 1lb of blackcurrants and a couple of cooking apples . It says to dot with one ounce of butter - I tend to just use olive spread -and two ounces of light muscavodo sugar. Fold the overlapping pastry and brush with egg white and dredge with caster sugar. Cook at 180 degrees (fan oven) for 35 to 40 minutes.
Watch out for a future post to discover which humble fruit ties for first place!
(*published in the mid 1990s and written by Mary Cadogan who interestingly now writes for the BBC Good Food magazine)
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