Blueberry and Peach Pie

Who doesn’t love a good pie? Happily there’s no need to wait until the depths of winter to enjoy this seasonal beauty. Blueberries and peaches are at their absolute best in August and work so well together, the sweetness of the peaches perfectly offsets the tartness of the blueberries. Crown the crisp pastry and juicy fruit filling with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and you’ve got yourself a delicious summer dessert fit for royalty!

Ingredients

For the pastry (or use shop bought)

350g plain flour, plus extra to dust

1 tsp salt

225g cold unsalted butter, cubed

50g icing sugar

1 medium free-range egg yolk, plus 1 whole egg, lightly beaten, to glaze

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp demerara sugar

For the filling

500g blueberries

5 tbsp cornflour

Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

3 peaches or nectarines, stoned and cut into wedges

160g golden caster sugar

To serve

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

You will need

Deep 23cm pie dish

Cooking Instructions

1.  First make the pastry. Put the flour and salt into a large bowl, then add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (you could also do this part in a food processor). Stir in the icing sugar. Whisk the egg yolk with 2 tbsp ice-cold water and the lemon juice. Quickly stir this into the flour mixture with a cutlery knife. If the dough seems dry, add a little more ice-cold water, a little at a time (don’t add too much water as this can make the pastry tough). Bring the dough together with your hands, turn it out onto the worktop and knead it very briefly to avoid overworking the pastry. Separate out a third of the dough, then form both pieces into discs, wrap well and chill for 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, gently mix all the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl, then set it aside for 30 minutes. Once the pastry has chilled, roll the larger piece of dough on a lightly dusted worktop into a roughly 30cm circle. Use this to line the pie dish, leaving some overhang. Fill with the blueberry filling. Roll out the remaining pastry to the same size as your dish, cut out 8 strips, then arrange in a lattice on top of the filling. Press around the edges of the pie to join the lattice strips to the base, then trim any overhang and crimp the edges.
3. Heat the oven to 170°c fan/gas mark 5, putting a baking sheet in the oven as you do so to warm up. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg, then sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes (or in the fridge for 20-30 minutes), then transfer the pie directly onto the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
4. Leave the pie to sit for 15 minutes or so, then serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Kumud Gandhi

Kumud Gandhi is a Nutritional Food Scientist bestselling Author, Broadcaster, and Keynote Speaker on the subject of nutritional health for productivity & performance in the workplace.  In 2010 Kumud founded ‘The Cooking Academy’ a cookery school that focusses on cooking for nutritional health and wellbeing.  Kumud regularly presents to international audiences on a variety of topics such as ‘Eating for Immunity and a Lifetime of Wellness’. She is an expert in the field of Wellness in the Workplace and works with organizations to create transformational change in employee health & well-being through nutrition and health coaching.