Slice of Life
My little excursions into Ottolenghi’s gastronomy continue to delight and amaze me. I started to hear about this chef a few years ago, and since then, I’ve been completely addicted. Different flavours, original combinations, an oriental touch, in short, I love his cooking! I am also lucky enough to access his books at my local library. It’s a dream! And yes, I love spending time at the library. We agree that if I bought all the cooking books that I like [and reading books in general], I wouldn’t have enough space to store them at home, not to mention the budget it would eat off. So I regularly spend hours at the library browsing through Mr. Ottolenghi’s books and many others, of course.
You can also find many of his recipes on blogs [Ottolenghi is an absolute darling of food bloggers] and directly on his website. My only drawback concerning Ottolenghi’s pastry: is the amount of sugar! When I see the proportions in the recipes, I almost have an attack. On average, I reduce the amount of sugar by a third or even half. But otherwise, I follow the master’s instructions.
About the Rustic Peach, Rosemary and Lime Pie
So it was on Ottolenghi’s website that I found the recipe for Peach, Rosemary and Lime Pie. You probably saw it on social networks a few years ago; this pie was trendy. And for a good reason; it is truly divine. It’s a simple fruit pie, but the addition of rosemary makes all the difference. And then that little peach syrup with rosemary and lime, what a treat. It is often said that the best things are the simplest; this rustic pie is proof of that. I’ve made it every summer for the past three years, and no one has ever complained about it, to tell you the truth: I’m asked for it every year when the peaches appear in the market.
You’ll need a puff pastry, and you’re free to prepare it or buy it. I make a quick puff pastry, and I think it is very suitable for this kind of recipe. For the rest, I follow the recipe, with some micro changes: a little more peaches, a little less sugar and no butter on the fruit, but that’s it. Oh, and no cream to go with it. I think this pie is good enough, but if you are interested, click on the link above, and you will have all the details to prepare it.
My suggestions:
Take a look at my lemon pie. Refreshing and full of pep with its lemon curd.
PEACH, ROSEMARY & LIME PIE (OTTOLENGHI)
Ingredients
- 1 puff pastry home or business
- 500 g peaches (about 4 nice pitted peaches) sliced into strips
- 2 limes
- 50 g sugar + 2 tbsp.
- 2 branches of rosemary + 1/2 teaspoon of chopped rosemary
- 1 oeuf slightly beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Remove the peel from 1 of the limes (in large pieces). Remove the zest from the other lemon and squeeze it to recover its juice.
- In a bowl, mix 50 g of sugar and the juice of 1 lime. Add the peach slices, rosemary sprigs and lime peel. Filter and let marinate for 1 to 2 hours (at least 40 min).
Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F)
- Drain the peaches and collect the juice, set aside.
- Roll out the puff pastry on a floured work surface. Form a disk about 26 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm high (I do it by eye), and transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Spread the drained peach slices over the surface of the dough, leaving a small border on all sides (about 5-6 cm). Fold the sides over the peaches.
- Brush the dough with beaten egg and sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix cornstarch with peach juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow to thicken to a syrupy (honey-like) consistency.
- Take the tart out of the oven, pour the syrup over the fruit and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. [this is also when Ottolenghi puts the butter cubes on the fruit, but I don't add them].
- Return to the oven for 15 minutes. Let it cool and enjoy.
