NECTARINE & BLUEBERRY HAND PIES, low sugar but indulgent, easy

Wallet-friendly ripen-at-home nectarines and a few handfuls of berries make an easy, winning dessert/packed lunch treat 

Hand pies with nectarines, blueberries & ginger in syrup (in home-made pastry )
(plus cinnamon twists made from leftover dough)
'The combo of generous fruit, sweet icing and melt-in-the-mouth pastry is wonderful!'  

Hand-held pockets of flaky pastry with a juicy fruit filling -- triangular or in  rectangles -- are a popular kidult lunch-box pleasure.  They also make a great tea-time sweet and, with colourful juices oozing out of shards of pastry, a lovely dessert with cream or yoghurt.

Generous fruity filling
in Michel Roux's pastry

It's important that the filling is generous; there is nothing worse than mingy filling.  If the top layer of  pastry dough is cut longer than the bottom, there'll be enough room for a mound of fruit.  And many satisfied, smiling faces.

In early trials, 67 teamed nectarines with blackberries and cinnamon; the finished product was dusted with icing sugar.  It was welcomed.  In another version, the blackberries were replaced with blueberries, ginger in syrup was added, and the finished product was dribbled with an icing sugar glaze scattered with flaked almonds.  That version got rave reviews.  

Conscious of busy households at this time of year, 67 made a batch using ready-made all-butter puff pastry*.  They were fine and popular with the tasters. 

But the home-made rough-puff pastry (Michel Roux's recipe) -- cheaper and lower in preservatives --  was amazing.  The taste and texture were excellent even though it was 67's first attempt and the layers could have been more defined.  Though there's nothing complicated about the recipe, the dough does need to be 'rested' in the fridge three times for 30 mins each so you'll need to set aside a little time.  It's more than worth it.  

Cost: min £3, more for ready-made pastry
Feeds: min 4, with a few cinnamon pastry twists as well

Ingred:
   1 pkt all-butter ready-rolled puff pastry OR 1/2 recipe Michel Roux's rough-puff pastry
   3 fat ripe nectarines, peeled, cut into 16 segments then halved horizontally
   1-2 handfuls blackberries or blueberries
   2-3 globules drained ginger in syrup, finely diced
   1 generous tsp juice from ginger in syrup

   a few teaspoons ground almonds

   Glaze: 1 egg, beaten with a teaspoon of water, or milk or single cream

   icing sugar OR icing sugar glaze (3 tbsp icing sugar & 1 generous teaspoon milk) OR melted white chocolate (opt)
   toasted flaked almonds (opt)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375f, 190c, gas 5; 
2. If using flaked almonds, toast 2-3 mins, keeping a close watch, until golden brown; set aside
3. Place baking tray, lined with greaseproof paper, in oven
4. Mix nectarines, fruit, diced ginger & ginger syrup
5. Lightly flour the work surface
6. Roll out pastry to 1/2in/1cm thickness
7. Cut pastry into rectangles 5inx7inc/13cmx18cm; use the back of a dinner knife to mark the 5inch/13cm fold (You're just marking it, not cutting it.)  You'll end up with a 5in/13cm square and a 7in/18cm top flap.  This allows the top layer of the pie to be 2in/5cm longer than the bottom, providing enough room for a generous filling.
8. Leaving a 2/3inch/2cm gap on left, right and bottom edge, spread the bottom half of the pastry with a teaspoon of ground almonds, evening it out with your fingers (preventing the dreaded soggy bottom).
9. Add about 1/4 cup fruit, making sure all three elements are present; the fruit will be built UP not outwards.  
10. Brush the sides and bottom with egg wash; bring down top of pastry, enclosing the fruit.  Press down gently on sides and bottom.  You may need to poke a few bits of fruit back under the top, especially on the sides but there will be room for them.  
11. Use a fork to press edges together but if you wish, create a thumb-and-forefinger crimped edge 
12. Slash top in 2 or 3 places to allow steam to escape
13. Repeat with other hand pies
14. Brush all over, but especially on edges, with egg wash
15. Carefully remove hot pan from oven; use a fish slice to transfer pies to pan, leaving a bit of space between 
16. Bake 35-45 mins or until golden
17. When totally cool, decorate with icing sugar, icing sugar glaze or white chocolate.  Scatter flaked almonds on to

*M&S All-butter Ready Rolled Puff Pastry

Comments:

'The pastry literally melts in the mouth.  The combination of generous fruit, the sweet icing and the pastry make them a wonderful treat.  The fruit mix works so well; I love blackberry the most. They look like M&S or Waitrose at their best. The cinnamon twists are gorgeous.'  Middle-aged male Taster

'I don't know why you rejected this nectarine & blueberry one; it's really good!'  Older train driver [Blogger: that batch it didn't have enough filling.]

'Good pastry!  I shared it with two friends and we all liked it.' Senior administrator

Tips:

• leftover pastry can be re-rolled and sprinkled with 1 tsp cinnamon mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar; cut into 1in/2cm strips and twist. Bake 15-20 mins till brown

For more fruit-based desserts  go to Nav Bar: Recipes 

(Questions & comments, pls email  b67goingon50@yahoo.co.uk )

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.