Recipe for Deep Fruit Pie and Grandma's Purse

At this time of year, we always have a real surplus of produce from the garden and although it has been wet and cold this year it has suited some crops, I’ve rhubarb that is the size of oak trees. We were having some friends around who can be really hungry when they arrive so I always need to have plenty to put on the table for them.

So to use up some of the fruit and give my friends a real treat I ventured up the garden and came back with plenty of goodies. It is a long while since I last made a fruit pie so I thought now was a good time to make one.

You can see from the top picture what a great mix it was, rhubarb, gooseberries, grapes [not from the garden] and windfall apples.

So first, we need a rich pastry, you can double the quantities for larger pies and in fact I did for my pie.

Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Split the dough in 75% for the pie tin and 25% for the crust. On a floured board roll out your pastry giving yourself plenty of extra with it being a deep dish. Roll it out to just less than ¼” and roll the dough over and around your rolling pin to lift it. Carefully place over the tin making sure it drapes into the bottom of the dish, make sure that you have not trapped air under the pastry.

I chopped two sticks of rhubarb, two small windfall apples from my eating apple tree, a small bunch of grapes, and a good handful of gooseberries [which I love fresh from the garden.]

Add this mix to the pie, sprinkle with caster sugar and nutmeg, add a few fresh mint leaves and then wet around the top and cover with the pastry lid. Don't cut off excess pastry until you have it all nicely sealed.

Trim off the excess and put it back in the fridge, I have a recipe for you to use it up.

Once the top is on it is ready for the oven.

I also made a wash of egg and nutmeg to give the pie a lovely shine when it is cooked, but I put this on about five minutes before the end of cooking otherwise it can burn.

You can serve it hot or cold, I like it hot, with ice cream, or fresh double cream. Try it chilled from the fridge on a hot summers day.

What about a fruity smoothie to drink with it, or freshh squeezed orange juice to add a little zing.

I learnt to bake watching my Mum and Grandma who were both excellent cooks, and when they had trimmed the pies they would let me make my own pie or whatever. One of my favourite things to make was Grandma's purse.

This is a great way of using up the excess pastry or something simple for the kids to be able to make when they are helping you bake.

Knead the pastry back into a single piece again and roll it out on a floured board.

For the filling I used some really big juicy raisins which I had soaked overnight in sherry, and sliced dates. I usually add a few fresh herb leaves too, usually mint. If you have a sweet tooth sprinkle your fruit with caster sugar. You can also use up your egg wash by giving this a real good coating.

Fold the edges of the pastry to make a pouch and cook on a baking tray when you cook your pie. You can make small individual purses which are great with a cup of tea watching TV.

You can’t get much simpler or tastier than that.

Serve with cream, or even better ice cream.

This was another very popular filling for left over pastry.

It works best with fresh mint, so I suppose we used to make this version in the summer, because we always had a patch in the garden for the mint to grow.

add a cup of raisins to a little sugar and chopped mint.

Roll out your pastry and put the above mix in the middle. Add a couple of knobs of butter.

Then seal it up as before, leaving a hole at the top for the steam to escape.

I hope you try and enjoy these simple pie ideas.

I'd like to hear from you so please leave a comment.