Diamonds in the puff

Rough puff pastry is simple to make and a great recipe to have in your repertoire. It doesn't have as many flaky layers as regular puff, but it's a rich, buttery pastry that crisps up well in the oven and is delicious.

Rough puff pastry

The key to this pastry is to work quickly and cold - a hot kitchen or warm butter will mean you need to add too much flour, which will make the pastry heavy. Streaks of butter in the dough is what you're looking for, so don't panic if it's not uniform.

500g plain unbleached flour

1 tsp salt

400g unsalted cold butter, cut into 2cm cubes

225ml water

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Sift the flour and salt on to a clean bench.

2. Tip the cold butter cubes on to the flour and chop through with a spatula until roughly incorporated.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the water and lemon juice and combine quickly until a dough forms. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour, but working quickly while the butter is still cool should make this unnecessary.

4. Shape the dough into a rectangle and roll flat, roughly 40cm long and 20cm wide, and then fold in three as you would a letter. Turn the dough so the open end faces you, roll out again, and fold again into three. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

5. Remove from the fridge and repeat the rolling-and-folding process twice more. Rest for a further 30 minutes before using.

6. Once it's rested, you can use the pastry, or store in the fridge for a day or two. You can also cut it into handy-size pieces and freeze them until you need them.

Apple and cherry pies

These flaky little pies are delicious straight from the oven with a dollop of creme fraiche, or warm with hot custard.

150g dried cherries

100ml cherry liqueur or brandy

70g castor sugar

2 tbsp honey

70g butter

5 pink lady apples, peeled, cored and cut in 1cm dice

2/3 quantity rough puff pastry (see recipe above)

1 egg, whisked

2 tbsp flaked almonds

Icing sugar to dust

1. Chop the cherries roughly, then soak in the liqueur for half an hour.

2. Mix the sugar, honey and butter with the diced apples and cook in a large non-stick frying pan for 5 minutes. Stir through the cherries and liqueur and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the fruit is soft and the liquid is reduced and sticky. Leave to cool completely.

3. Cut the puff into thirds and roll out each piece three millimetres thick. Chill for 10-15 minutes. Then cut eight- to 10cm circles out of the pastry, re-roll the scraps and cut more circles. Place the pastry circles back in the fridge to chill for another 10 minutes.

4. Remove the pastry from the fridge and place on a baking tray. Brush the circles with egg and add a heaped tablespoon of the apple mix. Top with another circle, press the edges together, brush the top with egg and scatter the almonds around the edges. Take the circles from the fridge as you need them so the pastry stays firm.

5. Bake in a 200C fan-forced (220C conventional) oven for 25-30 minutes until golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Drink Calvados

Serves 12

Pear tart with thyme, gorgonzola and walnuts

This dish makes a great entree or appetiser, or it works well after the main meal as a cheese course.

4 firm corella pears (uncored and unpeeled), cut into 4mm slices lengthways, tossed in the juice of half a lemon

3 tbsp brown sugar

200ml verjuice

30ml extra virgin olive oil

15 grinds pepper

6 sprigs thyme

1/3 quantity of rough puff pastry (recipe at top of article)

150g piece quality gorgonzola or Stilton

100g quality walnuts, toasted and while warm tossed in extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

2 handfuls fresh salad greens, such as curly endive, witlof or watercress, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced or 220C conventional.

2. In a medium roasting dish, add the pears and sprinkle over the sugar, verjuice and olive oil. Grind over the pepper and scatter over the thyme. Roast for 20 minutes or until a little golden. Allow to cool.

3. Roll out the pastry to no more than 5mm thick. Trim to a large rectangle (use the trimming to decorate the edges). Top with the roast pears. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden.

4. Crumble on the gorgonzola while still warm, drop on the walnuts, drizzle over some of the pear baking juices and serve with the salad greens on the side.

Drink German spatlese riesling

Serves 6