Mince Recipes Guardian

If you’re going to stray from the mince pie, Tom, you need to do so with conviction – you want a bake with its own identity. Luckily, mincemeat is a versatile thing, so you have options. “You should look at it like a condiment, ” says Sarah Lemanski, co-owner and creative director of Nova Bakehouse in Leeds, “and use it in any place you would jam.”

This approach, she says, has the bonus of (possibly) convincing any mince-pie sceptics. “A lot of people either love or hate the intensity of all that mincemeat, ” Lemanski says, “but distributing it through something else completely changes its profile.” Topping her nice list is

(layer the mincemeat into the sweet dough before braiding) and a mincemeat bread-and-butter pudding, while Shaheen Peerbhai, chef/owner of London boulangerie and patisserie Miel Bakery, stays on brand with brioche: “Mix in 15-18% of the dough’s weight in mincemeat.”

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Lemanski then heads farther off-piste with thoughts of giving the classic summer pudding a winter makeover, although that’s something she’s yet to try. Instead of filling the old-fashioned pud with the usual berry suspects, she envisions mincemeat bulked out with nuts and seasonal fruits, such as chopped apples.

Cakes are also good companions to mincemeat. “Take a good, moist bundt recipe, put the mix in the tin, add a layer of mincemeat, then a thick layer of crumble, ” Peerbhai says. For the crumble, she uses equal parts flour and demerara sugar and 40% butter. Alternatively, try a gateau Basque, putting a layer of mincemeat on the base, then custard on top. “It will take away some of the [mincemeat’s] intensity, ” Lemanski says.

For ultimate Christmas vibes, Lemanski swirls mincemeat through brownie batters. As well as giving that boozy kick, it also makes for a more fudgy texture, especially, she says, “if you blitz the mincemeat a little”. For a standard 9cm x 13cm sheet pan, use 150g mincemeat (although Lemanski admits to “pushing for more”), incorporate some into the batter, then splodge the rest on top. “You want to make sure that every single brownie square gets a bit of the mincemeat.”

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Just like leftover Christmas pudding, mincemeat and ice-cream is a killer combo. For a cool yule (sorry), Peerbhai infuses cream and milk with mincemeat for her creme anglaise base; strain the mix before churning, then put the raisins and co back in later. “It’s really important to use a thermometer to make creme anglaise, ” she warns. “You need to make sure it reaches 83C – one degree lower, and your ice-cream won’t be as thick, creamy or unctuous.”

For any purists standing firm, consider mixing up your mince-pie pastry, Lemanski suggests. “Keep it sweet shortcrust, but maybe incorporate some additional spices, ground nuts or a small proportion of wholemeal flour for character. . Christmas is, of course, a time for copious chocolate, so some ground cacao nibs seems an eminently sensible idea, too. “Try Pump Street’s, which have this fruity, almost boozy profile. It will really elevate your mince pies.”When people claim they don’t like mince pies, I feel compelled to assure them it’s just the commercial version they object to – if they tried homemade ones, with their crumbly, buttery pastry and fruit-packed filling, they’d agree I was right. Admittedly, this cooksplaining doesn’t always go down terribly well, especially after a couple of festive sherries, but the pies themselves usually do.

Zest of 1 lemon or 1 small orange 1 small unpeeled cooking apple, grated 2 tbsp suet (vegetable, if need be) or cold butter

Mince Pies From Blanche Vaughan

Assemble your filling ingredients – dried fruit, nuts, citrus zest, spices and suet. And a good glug of booze. Photograph: Dan Matthews/The Guardian. Food styling: Jack Sargeson

The best thing about homemade mince pies is that you can customise the mincemeat to suit your own tastes – if you don’t care for vine fruits, say, replace those in my ingredients list with chopped dried apricots, dates, cranberries, etc; the same goes for the figs, ginger and nuts. The whisky can be replaced by fruit juice or tea, though it won’t keep as well if you go down the booze-free route.

You can make the mincemeat well in advance, so long as you sterilise the jars properly (if you’re using it immediately, skip this step). Either wash the jars and lids in hot, soapy water, or run them through a hot dishwasher cycle, then dry them in a low oven (about 120C (100C fan)/250F/gas ¼) for 20 minutes, until dry, and fill them straight from the oven.

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Roughly chop any of the fruit that needs it into raisin-sized pieces. Lightly toast the nuts, if using, in a dry pan until fragrant, then roughly chop them, too. Put both into a large bowl with the ginger, sugar, spice, whisky (brandy, golden or dark rum, amaretto or sloe gin will also work), zest, grated apple and suet, or grate in the butter, if using.

Add a little more spice, if you think it needs it, or indeed booze. If you haven’t used the ginger, add a dash more booze, to make up for the loss of the syrup. Decant into the sterilised jars if you’re not planning on using the filling immediately.

Sift the flour into a bowl with a good pinch of fine salt. If you’d prefer to keep it nut-free, swap the ground almonds for the same amount of extra flour. Grate in the cold butter, then rub this into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like damp sand.

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Stir in the ground almonds (or extra flour) and sugar. Whisk the egg yolks with the orange blossom water, if using, and a tablespoon and a half of ice-cold water (two, if you’re not using the orange blossom water) – add just enough to bring the mix together into a firm, but not wet dough. Shape into a ball by hand, wrap well, and chill for half an hour.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 5. Grease two tartlet tins of whatever size you prefer with butter, and roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured surface until about 3mm thick. Cut out bases a little larger than the tin holes and use to line them, then fill each about three-quarters full with the mincemeat.

Roll out the other half of the pastry and cut out into rounds the same size as the tin holes. Alternatively, cut out stars or hearts, or top the pies with nuts (whole pecans and flaked almonds are nice) or even marzipan shapes, if you prefer less pastry-heavy pies.

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If using a pastry top, dampen the edge of the lids with a little water or milk, and press down lightly on the pies to seal. Brush the tops with milk or beaten egg, and prick with a fork. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden, then cool on a rack and dust with icing sugar before serving.Add a grating of ginger to a mound of pork mince and fire up these four meals: barbecued skewers with a peanut dressing; a courgette noodle and meatball miso broth; a sweet chilli banh-mi and crispy pork noodles

Pork mince is a fantastic and versatile product. Often overlooked for its beef equivalent, it can provide a welcome change in the kitchen. A good butcher will mince the cuts that you want, so you can ensure that you get the quality, flavour and provenance you want.

Pork with ginger is a great combination and works really well for the recipes below, which use pungent and aromatic sauces and herbs to elevate the sweet pork meat.

Easy Mince Recipes And Dinner Ideas

1 First, soak the breadcrumbs in the milk. Gently mix all the other ingredients with the pork mince and fold together with the bread and milk.

2 Divide the mix into the amounts needed for the following recipes and wrap them into tight clingfilm logs. These can then be labelled and left in the fridge or put in the freezer for future use. Providing the mince is fresh, the mix should last for 2 days. Resting for a time allows the flavours to mingle and intensify.

Cooking these on a griddle or barbecue is ideal, as you get a great mix of textures and flavours; the fatty pork crisping in some areas and almost burning in others. Serve with steamed rice. You’ll need 8 wooden skewers.

Frangipane Mince Pie Slices

1 Divide the pork meatball mix into 8 50g sausages and put on the skewers. Flatten them out with your hands until about 1cm thick, then set aside.

2 Reserve half the coriander and roasted peanuts, then mix all the other ingredients together to form a loose dressing. Use a little water to reduce it to a pouring consistency.

3 Put the pork skewers in a hot griddle pan or on a barbecue over a high heat. Allow them to crisp up on one side for 3-4 minutes, then gently flip over and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

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Miso adds a deep, savoury flavour to this simple broth, complementing the sweet and aromatic pork balls. You can usually find small packs of miso in Asian supermarkets, which are ideal for this