Recipes

Ingredients

* 200g caster sugar
* 1 tablspoon plain flour
* 25g cornflour
* pinch of salt
* 350 ml water
* 2 lemons, juiced and zeted
* 30g butter
* 4 egg yolks, beaten
* 1 (23 cm) shortcrust pastry case, already baked
* 4 egg whites
* 75g caster sugar

Preparation method

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F / Gas Mark 4.
2. To make the lemon filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 200g caster sugar, flour, cornfour and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon rind. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to the boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 100ml of the hot sugar mixture. Then, whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to the boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into pastry case.
3. To make the meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Ingredients

• 6 large flour tortillas (wraps)
• 150 g (5½ oz) plain low-fat yogurt
• 90 ml (3 fl oz) soured cream
• 75 g (2½ oz) mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated
• Mexican chicken filling
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 200 g (7 oz) baby corn, chopped
• 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes, about 400 g each
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 good-quality chicken stock cube or 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 300 g (10½ oz) cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast (fillet), diced
• 1 can red kidney beans, about 410 g, drained and rinsed
• 6 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• salt and pepper

Preparation method

1. First make the filling. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in the garlic, green pepper, corn and chilli, and cook for 5 more minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the ground coriander, cumin, sugar and stock cube or bouillon. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir well. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the chicken, beans and half the fresh coriander. Heat through gently for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6).
4. Lightly oil a large china flan dish, measuring about 28 cm (11 in) in diameter and 5 cm (2 in) deep. Place a tortilla on the bottom and spoon over one-fifth of the filling. Cover with a second tortilla, then spread over another fifth of the filling. Continue layering, finishing with the last tortilla on top. The stack will be slightly higher than the side of the dish.
5. Mix the yogurt with the soured cream, 50 g (1¾ oz) of the cheese and 2 tbsp of the remaining coriander. Spoon over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden. Sprinkle with the rest of the coriander and serve hot, cut into wedges.

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Some more ideas

Plus points

Ingredients

• 1 (23cm) unbaked pastry case
• 125g plain flour
• 100g dark brown soft sugar
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 125g butter
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• 7 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 100g caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation method

1. Place rack in lowest position in oven. Heat oven to 230 degrees C / Gas 8.
2. To make topping: Mix 125g flour, 100g brown sugar, 100g caster sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; rub in butter until mixture is moist and crumbly, and clumps together easily.
3. To make filling: Peel, core and slice apples into approximately 3mm slices. If you cut them too thick you'll have crunchy apples. In another bowl, toss cut up apples, caster sugar, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle in flour, and stir until apples are evenly coated.
4. Layer apple slices in pastry case. You will have a lot of apples, but they will shrink. Layer them higher in the middle. Pour left over juice from apple mixture over apples. Pat the brown sugar topping evenly over apples to make a top crust.
5. Place pie on baking tray in oven to catch juice drippings. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180 degrees C / Gas 4, and bake for 45 minutes to one hour; bake until centre of pie has no resistance. If top starts to get too dark, cover with piece of foil. Cool on wire rack before serving.

Apple pie tips

To check the doneness of the pie filling, insert a knife into the centre of the pie. If it meets with little or no resistance, the pie is done.

If the pie is not quite done but the top or edges are becoming too dark, loosely cover the top of the pie with aluminium foil to shield it from the heat.

Ingredients

• 1 (23cm) pastry case
• 625g apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 100g caster sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons caster sugar
• 100g plain flour
• 6 tablespoons butter

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas 6. Arrange apple slices in unbaked pastry case. Mix 100g sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
2. Mix 5 tbsp sugar with flour; rub in butter until crumbly. Spoon mixture over apples.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and top is lightly browned.

Apple pie tips

Ingredients

• 1 (23cm) pastry case
• 750g thinly sliced apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 tablespoons sultanas (optional)
• 8 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)
• 8 tablespoons flour
• 8 tablespoons dark brown soft sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas 5.
2. Place sliced apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice if desired. In a small bowl, mix together caster sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated. Stir in sultanas and walnuts if desired. Spoon mixture into pastry case.
3. In a small bowl mix together 8 tablespoons flour and brown sugar. Rub in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over apple filling. Cover top loosely with aluminium foil.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Apple pie tips