A couple weeks ago, I spent a whole day making pies for an event. They were filled with spinach and swiss chard, feta and ricotta and I was filled with joy. I love making pie of any kind and this is probably my favourite savoury combo. At the end of the day, I found myself tired, with some leftover phyllo pastry and in desperate need of a dessert (after all the pie ‘testing’). I glanced at the ice cream in the freezer, then at the beautiful fruit in the fridge and thought “What the hell, let’s make another pie! A nectarine & blackberry pie!”

Yes, let’s! Because pie is comfort food. It’s so easy and fun to make and chances are it will leave the oven looking  pretty and tasting like a million bucks. So: leftover phyllo sheets drizzled with butter and layered on our baking dish. Sweet nectarines, bright and a little firm and gorgeous blackberries, juicy and a little sour. Some brown sugar, cardamom and lime for extra flavour and we’re almost ready for the oven. We’ll need another sheet torn and very casually placed over our filling and an extra touch of butter to help everything come together in the best way possible.

Icing sugar for extra sweetness and looks, maybe some of that ice cream and there it is, the perfect sweet, crunchy, buttery bite. Juicy and crunchy, bursting with fruity goodness and cardamom and lime aroma. A day starting with pie doesn’t necessarily have to end with pie. But it’s so much better when it does.

Nectarine & blackberry pie

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 nectarines, washed, cored and sliced

1 cup blackberries, washed

1/2 teaspoon cardamom, grated

1/2 lime zest

a pinch of salt

3/4 cup demerara sugar

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 tablespoon cold water

2 tablespoons melted butter

4 sheets thawed phyllo (& 1, torn)

METHOD

Prepare the filling: melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the nectarine slices and blackberries and cook until tender- about 15′. Add the cardamom, lime zest, sugar and salt and stir well to combine. Mix the cornflour and cold water thoroughly and add to the mixture. Combine and let the mixture cook until reduced and thickened. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Once the fruit mixture is cool, preheat the oven to 170 C (150 C for air) and start assembling the tart. Remove the phyllo sheets from the fridge and cover with a damp towel to prevent from drying. Brush the baking dish with some melted butter and drape one phyllo sheet over the dish. Brush lightly with some butter and repeat with the other three sheets.

Add the filling and fold the edges of the four phyllo sheets inwards and brush with butter. Cut the remaining phyllo sheets in ribbons, scrunch them and top the filling until almost completely covered. Lightly brush with some melted butter and bake for about 30′ or until golden.

Cool for about 10′ and serve.