Serves 4


Ingredients:

4 sheets ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
4 bananas
1 tbsp demerara sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon


Method:

• Preheat the oven to hot 220°C (425°F). Lightly grease two baking trays. Cut one 17cm circle out of each sheet of pastry, using a plate as a guide.
• Thinly slice each banana on the diagonal and place one sliced banana in the centre of each pastry circle, leaving a 3cm border. Sprinkle with the combined sugar and cinnamon.
• Fold the edges of the pastry to slightly enclose the filling, leaving a gap in the centre. Place on the baking trays and cook for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve with ice cream or cream.

Nutrition per serve:
Protein 12g;
Fat 38;
Carbohydrate 97g;
Dietary Fibre 6g;
Cholesterol 42mg;
3240 kj (774 cal)

Serves 4


Ingredients:

410g can pie apples
¼ cup (80g) apricot jam
1 tbsp raisins
6 slices fruit bread, crusts removed
butter, to spread
1 tbsp demerara sugar


Method:

• Preheat the oven to moderate 180°C (350°F) and lightly grease a 1 litre ovenproof dish. Place the pie apples, apricot jam and raisins in a bowl and mix together well. Evenly cover the base of the ovenproof dish with the apple mixture.
• Spread both sides of the bread slices with butter, then cut each slice into quarters on the diagonal to form four triangles. Neatly arrange the bread triangles over the apple mixture, with the slices overlapping each other. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 20 minutes, or until the bread is golden and crisp. Serve piping hot with ready-made custard or ice cream, if desired.

Nutrition per serve:
Protein 4.5g;
Fat 7;
Carbohydrate 67g;
Dietary Fibre 3g;
Cholesterol 15mg;
1422 kj (340 cal)

Note: You can use other canned fruits, such as apricots or pears, or even use a combination of canned fruits to make this pie.

Serves 4


Ingredients:

155g jar lemon butter or curd
18cm ready-made cooked sortcrust pastry flan
2 egg whites
1/2 cup (125g) caster sugar


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F). Spoon the lemon butter over the pastry case, spreading right to the edge. Carefully smooth the top.
2. Whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating well after each addition until stiff and glossy peaks form.
3. Cover the lemon butter with the egg whites, forming peaks. Place on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden on the peaks.

Nutrition per serve
Protein 5.5g;
Fat 20g;
Carbohydrate 70g;
Dietary Fibre 0.5g;
Cholesterol 51mg;
1950 kj (466 cal)

Serves 6


Ingredients:

1 tbsp cornflour
2 x 825g cans whole dark plums
1 sheet ready-rolled latticed shortcrust pastry (see Note)
1 egg white
demerara sugar, to sprinkle
icing sugar, to dust


Method:

• Preheat the oven to hot 220°C (425°F). Lightly grease a 23cm pie dish.
• Place the cornflour and 1 tablespoon cold water in a small bowl and stir well.
• Strain the plums, reserving the juice. Pour the reserved juice into a saucepan and add the cornflour mixture. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring continuously for 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Add the plums and stir until warmed through.
• Place the plums and sauce in the pie dish and cover with latticed shortcrust pastry. Brush the pastry with egg white, sprinkle with sugar and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and serve hot with ice cream or ready-made custard.
  

Nutrition per serve:
Protein 3g;
Fat 8g;
Carbohydrate 25g;
Dietary Fibre 3g;
Cholesterol 8.5mg;
770 kj (184 cal)

Note:
Lattice pastry is available in a pastry pack in the frozen section of the supermarket. If you can't find it, buy normal shortcrust, cut it into 1.5cm wide strips and lay half the strips vertically across the pie, and the other half horizontally. Otherwise, use a lattice pastry cutter.

Ingredients:

The Pastry:
1 ¼ cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
½ cup of solid vegetable shortening broken into medium chunks
Ice water

The Pie:
5 pounds of mango slices
1 ½ cups of sugar
½ cup of flour
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of butter
1 beaten egg
1 tablespoon of coarse sugar


Method:

The Pastry

• Add the flour, sugar and salt together to a food processor bowl. Process them until completely mixed then add the shortening. Process further until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
• Place the mixture in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over it. Cut the water into the mixture with the blade of a rubber spatula until the mixture is evenly moistened and begins to clump. You may need to add another tablespoon of water. Continue with your hands until the dough comes together in a rough mass. Press it into a flat disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.

The Pie

• Preheat the oven to 190°C. Toss together all the ingredients except the butter. Pour into a 10 to 12 inch casserole dish. Roll out the dough to fit the top of the dish then lay it on top. Tuck up the edges of the crust and form a decorative edge. Cut several steam vents in the crust. Brush the top with half of the beaten egg; discard the rest. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown and its juices begin to bubble out. This will take about one hour. Let cool on a rack then serve.

Ingredients:

450g skinless, boneless chicken breast halves-cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220 °C.
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water, cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions with butter until soft and translucent. Stir with flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir with chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.