In this week’s post, local Nelson chef and guest Blogger, Grant Dicker offers recipe inspiration so you can take advantage of the delicious Nelson late summer fruit. Take it away, Grant…
As we enter late summer there is still plenty of summer fruit to be enjoyed. Even with our current dry conditions, when most other things in our garden are looking pretty sorry for themselves, our passion fruit vine is thriving. I really like passion fruit, and it goes so well with late summer dishes, particularly summer puddings. Originally from the Amazon, it’s high in fibre and a good source of vitamin C, and though it’s only available for a short time, it’s a real treat when it’s around.
Here’s a twist on a traditional meringue pie; Passionfruit Meringue Pie! Light and fluffy meringue paired with the sweet but tart flavour of Passionfruit, on a sweet pastry base. You could make your own sweet pastry for the base, but great ready-made options are available in the freezer section at Fresh Choice Nelson.
Passionfruit Meringue Pie
Ingredients:
- 500 gm sweet pastry
Filling
- 12 passionfruit
- 4 Tbsp cornflour
- 140 gm caster sugar
- 4 egg yolks
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 200 gm caster sugar
Method:
Heat the oven to 200C. Dust the work surface with a little flour, roll the pastry out to the thickness of a $1 coin. Line a deep, 23cm loose-bottomed flan tin and chill until firm. Line with greaseproof paper and a layer of baking beans, then bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, then return to the oven for five minutes until pale golden. Leave to cool. Cut the passionfruit in half, then scoop out the pulp of ten into a sieve over a large jug. Rub the pulp and juice through the sieve, discard the seeds. Scoop the pulp and seeds of the remaining fruit into the juice. You should now have 150ml in total (make up with orange juice if there’s not enough). In a pan, mix the cornflour with the sugar, then gradually stir in 200ml cold water followed by the passionfruit. Stir over a medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Take the pan off the heat and whisk the yolks into the hot mixture. Reduce the oven to 180C. Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the sugar until thick and glossy. Reheat the filling briefly, then spread over the pastry base. Spoon the meringue over the filling, starting from the pastry edge and working your way into the middle, then gently swirl the spoonfuls together. Bake for twenty minutes until the meringue is lightly golden. Serve warm or cold.
