Peach and Almond Pie and Giveaway: Baking Set and Cinema Tickets for 'Labor Day'

Many a great film is defined by an iconic scene of food on the big screen. That moment in Lady and a Tramp when a clandestine kiss is shared over a bowlful of spaghetti. The 1961 Château Cheval Blanc quaffed in a Styrofoam cup in a burger joint in the final scenes of Sideways.  The sweet, tempting and ultimately deadly for poor, greedy Augustus Gloop, chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Those pies with their inventive names inspired by the life events of baker Jenna in Waitress. And of course THAT infamous scene at Katz's Delicatessen in When Harry Met Sally.

(You might be relieved to hear I'm not going to regale you with lengthy descriptions of food scenes in Hannibal, American Pie and the [turn away now] rather graphic food poisoning scene in Bridesmaids.)

Adding to this list is new movie Labor Day starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, a critically acclaimed story of love and betrayal, which, in one of the pivotal moments of the film, features a peach pie. And to celebrate its general release today in the UK, here's a delicious recipe for an Almond Peach Pie plus a rather great giveaway where you can win:

• A baking set, containing a 24cm Le Creuset pie dish
• The Labor Day novel
• Plus cinema tickets to see the film

There are a couple of ways to enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment below answering the following question: 'What is your favourite pie filling?'
• Follow @whatkatebaked on twitter and tweet: 'I'd like to win a baking set and #LaborDay tickets with @whatkatebaked'

                         

Peach and Almond Pie

For a 26 cm sized pie dish

For the pastry:

200g plain flour, sifted

40g caster sugar

75g ground almonds

125g unsalted butter, cubed

Zest of one lemon

1 large free-range egg, beaten

For the pie filling:

4-6 peeled, sliced and stoned peaches or  2 x tins of sliced peaches, drained 

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

For the finish:

1 tbsp milk

1 tbsp granulated sugar 

1. To make the pastry: place the flour, sugar and ground almonds in a large bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir through the lemon zest and egg. Bring together the mixture with your hands into a ball and wrap in cling film. Chill for 30 minutes.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Reserving a third of the pastry in the fridge, roll out the rest on a lightly floured surface. Use this to line the pie dish.

3. To make the filling: place the peaches, caster sugar and corn flour in a large bowl and toss together gently. Spoon into the pie dish, 

4. Roll out the reserved pastry and using a knife or a pizza wheel, cut into one inch strips. Transfer the strips onto the pie forming a lattice pattern

5. Brush the pastry with the milk and sprinkle over the sugar. Bake for forty minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling bubbling 

Baker's notes...

• Serve warm from the oven with a lovely dollop of creme fraiche 
• This really is a perfect summery pie, perfect for ripe, juicy soft peaches enjoyed in the shade of the garden. As it is still a rather chilly March, I've used tinned peaches

Here's the small print about the Labor Day Giveaway (UK only):

• The giveaway will close 12:00 28th March 2014 and is open to UK residents only
• The winner will be chosen at random from the entries submitted
• All decisions are final, no correspondence will be entered into and there is no cash alternative
• The winner will be contacted by email and the prize sent directly by Abundant Publicists 

                                    

Please note: This recipe and post was commissioned by Labor Day/Abundant Publicists for a fee in conjunction with the UK release date of the film