The idea is, I suppose, that tarts are more suited to summer, pies to winter. An open topped pastry case is the ideal opportunity to show off slices of knobbly, seasonal tomatoes or an OCD arrangement of summer berries. A pie’s second layer of pastry will satisfy our winter need for the comfort of golden dough. And yet we happily bring out a pork pie at a July picnic or eat an open-topped tarte tatin on a wet weekend in February. And as much as I like the visual appeal of a tart, it is that extra layer of pastry that gets my vote rain or shine.

All of which may explain why, with the sun high in the sky, I found myself making a double-crusted rabbit and tarragon pie. It’s a short hop from steak and kidney yet the white meat and green herbs planted it firmly in the summer eating category. I skirted the rabbit’s tendency to dryness by browning the meat then poaching it in stock with shallots and thyme. That stock ended up as the heart and soul of the filling, thickened with butter and flour.

This week also saw an apricot pie on the table, made with pastry so soft it hugged the shape of the fruit, giving the impression of a cluster of apricot dumplings. I included lemon zest in the pastry that brought out the fruit’s characteristic shyness. Long live the double crust.

Rabbit, chicken and tarragon pie

If rabbit isn’t your thing, then use chicken instead, making sure a generous proportion of it is brown leg and thigh meat. You will need a deep pie dish approximately 30x20cm.

Serves 6
For the pastry:
plain flour 200g
lard 50g
butter 50g
egg 1, beaten

For the filling:
olive oil 4 tbsp
wild rabbit meat 1.2kg, prepared but on the bone
chicken thighs 2, skinned
shallots 200g, small
button mushrooms 150g
carrots 200g, small
thyme 10 sprigs
butter 50g
plain flour 50g
stock 700ml (from cooking the rabbit)
parsley 4 tbsp, chopped
tarragon 2 tbsp, chopped
egg a little, beaten

Make the pastry: put the flour into the bowl of a food processor, add the lard and butter, cut into small pieces, then process to coarse crumbs.

Add the egg to the mixture and enough cold water to give a firm but rollable dough. Roll into a thick, fat cylinder, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes.

Warm the oil in a large, wide pan over a moderate heat. Add the rabbit and chicken pieces, browning on both sides and removing to a large casserole as they become ready. Peel the shallots and colour lightly in the oil in which you browned the meat, then add the mushrooms, cut in halves or quarters, as you think fit. When they are golden, transfer the mushrooms and shallots to the rabbit pan, then pour over 2 litres of water and bring to the boil. Peel the carrots and halve them lengthways. Add the thyme sprigs and lower the heat. Let everything simmer for an hour with the occasional stir, adding the carrots halfway through the cooking time.

Remove the chicken and vegetables with a draining ladle and transfer to a deep pie dish. Leave the stock simmering while you tear the meat from the bones into large pieces.

Melt the butter in a heavy pan, add the flour and cook over a moderate heat, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Pour in 700ml of the stock and stir until you have a thickish gravy. Add the meat, vegetables and chopped herbs, check the seasoning, then tip into a deep-sided baking dish.

Slice the pastry into ½cm thick discs, then lay them, slightly overlapping, over the filling. Brush with a little beaten egg and bake for 40 minutes or so, until golden.

Apricot pie

My favourite pastry is very soft and a little fragile to handle. I get round this by kneading the dough, briefly and tenderly, on a lightly floured wooden board before rolling.

Serves 6
For the pastry:
butter 150g
golden caster sugar 150g
egg 1
lemon grated zest of 1 small one
plain flour 250g
baking powder 1tsp
milk and sugar a little to finish

For the filling:
apricots 750g, ripe ones
caster sugar 2tbsp
orange grated zest of 1 small one
cornflour 1 heaped tbsp

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg, then the lemon zest. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold into the butter and sugar mixture. Form the dough into a ball and knead lightly on a floured surface then cut in half. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for half an hour. Use half of the dough to line a buttered 24cm metal pie plate. Place this, and the remaining half, in the fridge.

Set the oven at 180/gas mark 4. Halve the apricots and remove their stones. Put the apricots in a bowl, toss with the sugar, orange zest and cornflour, then spoon on to the pie lining. Roll the reserved pastry to fit the top. Brush the rim of the pastry in the pie plate with milk, then lower on the pastry top. Seal the edges, pressing or pinching them together, then brush the pie with milk and dust with sugar. Pierce a small hole in the centre to let the steam out. Bake for 45 minutes or so until the crust is pale gold. Leave to settle for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater