THE JUICIEST PLUM AND RHUBARB PIE

THIS recipe uses wholemeal pastry and includes a little lard for shortness, or crisp crumbliness. The wholemeal flour lends a lovely nuttiness, but you can use half plain/half wholemeal if you prefer. If the plums are not very ripe they should be cooked in a little sugar syrup first. You’ll need a 1.3-1.4 litre (2¼-2½ pint) rectangular pie dish.

Serves 6

For the wholemeal pastry

● 170g (6oz) wholemeal flour, plus extra to dust

● Generous pinch of salt

● 25g (1oz) lard

● 60g (2¼oz) chilled butter

● 2 tbsp chilled water

For the filling

● 500g (3½oz) small plums

● ½ tsp ground cinnamon

● 3-6 tbsp demerara sugar, to taste

● 250g (9oz) rhubarb (3-4 small sticks)

● 2-3 tbsp caster sugar, to finish For the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Cut the fats into the flour, then rub the flour and fat together with your fingertips, giving the bowl an occasional shake to lift any lumps to the surface . Add 1 tbsp of the water and use a dinner knife to distribute as quickly as possible, creating flakes of pastry. Pull some of the flakes to the side and feel them; if they are very dry, add a little more water to any dry areas of crumb and use the knife again. Use the flat of the knife to bring a few of the flakes and dry crumb together, creating larger lumps. Continue like this until there are no dry crumbs left in the bottom of the bowl. Pull the pastry together with your hands, shaping it into a flat disc, about 10cm (4in) in diameter and about 1.5cm ( 5/8 in) thick, working as quickly as possible to avoid the pastry becoming tough. Wrap in Clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6. To prepare the filling, halve and stone the plums, then place in a large bowl with the cinnamon and demerara sugar. Cut the rhubarb into 2cm (¾in) pieces and add to the bowl. Toss everything together to coat the fruit and tip into the pie dish. Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 3-4mm (¹/ 8- ¼in) thickness and about 5cm (2in) bigger than the top of the pie dish. Cut a strip of pastry from each edge, the same width as the rim of the dish (picture 1). Press the strips onto the rim of the pie dish, sealing the joins. Brush lightly with water (picture 2) and place the rolled-out pastry on top. Trim the edges using a knife and crimp them by pressing between the forefingers and thumb (picture 3). Make decorative leaves from the pastry trimmings, then brush the top of the pie with water and place the leaves on top. Brush the leaves with water and sprinkle the whole pie with caster sugar. Cut 1 or 2 small slits in the pastry top for steam to escape, then place the pie on a lipped baking tray and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is cooked and the fruit is tender. Allow to cool a little before serving.