Rhubarb and Strawberry Lattice Pie

The photo below is of my first attempt at this. The original recipe didn't call for the blind baking or to cook down the fruit first. This resulted in both the fruit and the pastry on the bottom of the pie being undercooked. I made some tweaks to the recipe and also because I'm a lazy sod substituted the pastry for shop bought ready made. Follow the method below and you shouldn't have any problems.

Ingredients

400g Rhubarb, chopped into 1/2" pieces
400g Strawberries, destalked and chopped in half if large
170g Granulated Sugar
50g Cornflour
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 pack of frozen or fresh ready rolled Shortcrust Pastry (defrost for 1.5 hours of frozen)
1 Egg Yolk
2tbsp Milk
9" diameter pie dish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.



2. Line the pie dish with the pastry sheet. Trim the overhanging pastry and keep to one side.



3. Cover the pastry with some grease proof paper and pour in a handful of rice.



4. Place the pie dish in the oven and bake for 10 mins.



5. Remove the grease proof paper and throw away the rice as it can no longer be used. Put the pie dish back in the oven for another 5 minutes until the pastry is a light golden brown.



6. In a mixing bowl add the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornflour and vanilla extract. Mix together and let stand for five minutes.



7. Add the contents of the mixing bowl to a frying pan on a low to medium heat.



8. Continue stirring the mixture until the sugar has melted and the juices have thickened to a jammy consistency (10-15 mins) then remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.



9. Tip the pie filling into the pie dish and pat down to level out.



10. From the left over pastry cut out 1cm strip and use to make a lattice pattern on top of the pie filling.



11. Mix the egg yolk and milk together and brush over the uncooked pastry.



12. Put the pie in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins or until the pastry is a light golden brown.



13. Serve with a good pouring of Bird's Custard.

Baked Rainbow Trout with New Potatoes & Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

For the Trout:

2 Rainbow Trout (gutted, heads, tail & fins removed, descaled deboned and cleaned)
2 tsps Olive Oil
6-8 stalks of flat leaf Parsley
1 Lemons sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste
Paprika
Butter

For the New Potatoes:

250g New Potatoes
knob of Butter
1tbsp chopped flat leaf Parsley

For the Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes:

2tsp Olive Oil
2 doz Cherry Tomatoes on the vine
4 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp chopped Basil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.



2. Line a baking dish with a sheet of tin foil.



3. For each fish, pour a tsp of olive oil on the inside of the cavity, add salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle a pinch of paprika then stuff the fish with the parsley and lemon slices.



4. Place a couple of small knobs of butter on the skin of the fish. Turn over and repeat on the other side. Place the fish onto the tin foil in the baking tray.



5. Roll the tin foil together to make a sealed package or fold another sheet of tin foil over the fish and roll down all the edges together to seal.



6. Place the baking dish in the oven for 25-30 mins.



7. Boil the new poataotes for 20-25 mins or until cooked through.



8. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat.



9. Remove the cherry tomatoes from the vine and add to the frying pan.



10. Toss the tomatoes around in the oil for 5-10 mins. Add the balsamic vinegar and season with salt & pepepr to taste.



11. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 15-20 mins.



12. 5 mins before the fish is due to come out of the oven turn off the heat to the tomatoes and add the chopped basiloss the tomatoes in the basil and the pan juices.



13. Drain the potatoes. Add a knob of butter and the chopped parsley and toss until the butter is melted and the potatoes are covered in the parsley.



14. Serve the fish with the potatoes and tomatoes. Drizzle a little of the reduced pan juices over the tomatoes.

Chantenay Carrots

Ingredients

250g Chantenay Carrots, cleaned and trimmed
50g granulated sugar

Method

1. Put the carrots in a frying pan on a low to medium heat.



2. Add the sugar to the carrots and heat until the sugar is melted. Don't heat too fast or the sugar will catch and burn.



3. Toss the carrots in the melted sugar and add boiling water to the frying pan until the carrots are just covered.



4. Increase the heat and keep the carrots on the boil until tender (15 - 20 mins).

Chicken & Bacon Pie

Ingredients

3 tbsp Flour
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tsps chopped fresh Lemon Thyme
2 Chicken breasts, diced
2 tsps Olive Oil
4 rashers of streaky Smoked Bacon, cut into small strips
1 small tin Sliced Mushrooms (drained) or 125g Chestnut Mushrooms, thinly sliced
15g Butter
300ml hot Chicken Stock
1 sheet of frozen or fresh Puff Pastry (defrost for 1.5 hours in the fridge if frozen)
1 Egg Yolk
2 tbsp Milk

For the actual pie dish I used a 6" square 1" deep dish, or alternatively you could use two indivdual pie dishes.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C



2. Place the flour, salt, pepper, lemon thyme and chicken in a plastic freezer bag. Seal the bag and toss the chicken to coat the pieces in the flour and seasoning. Keep to one side.



3. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan on a medium to high heat. Add the bacon pieces and fry until golden.



4. Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to heat until softened.



5. Add the butter to the bacon and mushrooms and heat until melted.



6. Tip the chicken pieces and all the seasond flour into the pan. Stir with the bacon and mushrooms until all the flour and butter has mixed together and the chicken begins to brown.



7. Pour in the hot stock and stir to make the sauce. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low to medium and simmer for five minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as required.



8. Line the rim of your pie dish with a thin (1cm) strip of pastry. Dampen the rim with a little water if the pstry will not stick.



9. Cut the pastry sheet just a little larger than the pie dish you are using. Fill the pie dish with the chicken filling.



10. Dampen the pastry rim a little and place your pie lid on top of the dish. Trim any over hanging pastry. Crimp the pie edges with a fork and make a couple of holes in the pie lid to release any steam.



11. Mix the egg yolk and milk together and brush over the pastry.



12. Cook the pie for 20 - 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Turn the pie round halfway throught the cooking time for an even colouring



13. Serve the pie with Mashed Potato and Chantenay Carrots