Last year I decided to move our rhubarb, we have a lovely vegetable garden and a very abundant and well established fruit garden, but for some unknown reason the previous owner of the house had planted the rhubarb in the vegetable patch. I was a little nervous as we had such a lovely supply of rhubarb last summer, but it has taken well and I have already cut three large batches of rhubarb this season, this latest batch being used for this twist on the traditional, a lovely sweet and tart, rhubarb meringue pie.

The end of our garden was an old ancient orchard, we still have 10 beautiful apple trees, a few of which were from the orignal orchard and I feel very blessed to have them. At the moment they are looking stunning, all covered in there beautiful blossoms.

The next job is to get the netting on the fruit cage, last year we lost nearly everything to the birds and squirrels, a lesson we have learnt from and hope to be prepared for this year. If all goes well I should be posting recipes for apples, gooseberries, rhubarb, black currants, strawberries and raspberries all summer!

For now though, Luca has decided that it is a great area to build a camp!!

I grew up where we had a walled kitchen garden and an orchard that boasted everything from apples, to victoria plums and greengages, there were quinces, loganberries, blackberries, currants, strawberries and raspberries, my Father would tell us not to eat them as they were for the big house, but I loved sneaking in and stealing a handful of ripe berries. My favourite place to sit was perched high on the far wall, this edged the orchard, I could sit up there out of view and fill my face with greengages that were so sweet and ripe, the juices running down my face, it was pure heaven.

If I was Luca I would keep my camp there all summer and help myself to the fruit as it ripens and I will turn a blind eye, because like his Mum he loves his fruit.

Though traditionally made with a lemon filling, I think the subtle sharpness of rhubarb works really well in this classic meringue pie. I even made my own pastry, I almost followed the recipe below, but didn’t quite have enough plain flour, so I had to top up with some white spelt flour and some wholegrain spelt flour, it worked and I think even improved on the flavour, giving the pastry a nutty wholesome taste. I am doing rather well with my pastry making, what has helped is a little tip I learnt from Rachel Allen, rolling the pastry out between two sheets of clingfilm. I always had trouble moving it from the board to the dish, but this works every time.

So lets hope we get some sunshine soon to ripen all this lovely fruit and lets face it, it must be time to get the Pimms out soon!!!

Buon appetito

For the filling

900g rhubarb, cut into 4cm pieces
100g caster sugar (I used golden unrefined for all of this recipe)
2cm grated ginger
Grated zest 2 oranges
2 tablespoons cornflour

For the pastry
275g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 egg yolk

For the meringue topping
4 egg whites
125g caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour

To make the pastry, put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt into a food processor and whizz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the caster sugar and whizz again. Pour in the egg and 2 tbsp of chilled water and pulse until the pastry comes together into a ball.

Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes, I made mine before the school run and it was fine int he fridge for a couple of hours. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and lay it in a 23cm loose-based tin, place a sheet of baking parchment on top and chill in the fridge while you bake the rhubarb. I find this a tricky way of handling pastry, mine always falls apart, so now I roll it out between two pieces of clingfilm, it works every time.

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2.

Place the rhubarb, caster sugar, ginger and orange zest in an ovenproof dish and bake for 20 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender but still holding its shape. Dust with the cornflour, stir and set aside.

Increase the oven to 190C/375F/Gas5.

Fill the tart base with baking beans and cook the pastry for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, tip out the baking beans and paper and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp.

Put the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, continuing to whisk, until the peaks are thick and glossy. Fold in the cornflour and continue to whisk until stiff. Fill the pie case with the rhubarb.

Top with the meringue and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Cool before serving.