I love berries and love them even more when they're reduced. Sometimes, however, they don’t have much life left in them. Making a pie and cooking the berries is one way of getting the best out of them and extending their use. This recipe could be followed with pretty much any berry; just remember to adjust the sugar for the filling depending on how tart or sweet a berry it is that you have.
The pastry for this pie is a basic mix of butter, flour and water with blitzed freeze-dried strawberries. I was hoping for it to look pinker, but it looks good enough for me as a first attempt and something that I will certainly make again, possibly adding a little more of the freeze-dried strawberries for colour.
Ingredients
Pastry
70g freeze-dried strawberries
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
325g plain flour
220g unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch-cubes
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
60g ice water
Filling
2 punnets of strawberries (approximately 500g)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
165g granulated white sugar
40g cornstarch
1 large egg white
Pinch of fine sea salt
Method
1, For the pastry, using a blender blitz the freeze-dried strawberries and granulated sugar to a fine powder
2, Add the flour and salt and continue to blitz until well combined
3, Add the cubed butter and pulse until you have breadcrumbs
4, Make a well in the centre of the mix and add in your water; I add a little at a time until the mixture comes together as a dough which isn’t sticky; you may need to add a little more water, if you do add small amounts gradually
5, Divide your pastry into 2 balls, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour
6, Preheat your oven to 200 degrees fan
7, For the filling, whisk together the granulated sugar and cornstarch, before mixing in the lemon juice, vanilla and salt
8, Add in the strawberries and toss well to combine
9, When rested take one ball of pastry from the fridge and roll out to ¼ inch thick and line your pie dish. I prick the bottom of the pastry and put back into the fridge
10, Take out the next ball and roll to the same thickness but this time cut out wide strips of the same size
11, Take the base out of the fridge and add in your filling, then create your lattice pattern on top with the strips of pastry
12, Whisk the egg white with 1tbsp water and brush your pastry with this
13, Sprinkle granulated sugar over the pie
14, Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pie is bubbling
15, Enjoy!
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