food!

2008-12-06, 4:11 p.m.

If youï¿½ve got to this page without ï¿½clicking backï¿½ then youï¿½ve missed all the fascinating news! This page is just an extra. Give it five minutes and have another go ( thatï¿½ll give me time to fix all the bits of html which will inevitably not work, despite me taking copious notes from smashthegas earlier) and you should reach the ï¿½properï¿½ page, rather than this one! Ta.

Classic mincemeat

I sometimes use a jar of mincemeat when I make mince pies. I buy a regular ï¿½non-fancyï¿½ one and then add extra bits to it, like chopped mixed nuts, chopped glace fruits, a slug of brandy etc ï¿½ whatever I have to hand. Sometimes, though, I make my own (in a big bucket ï¿½ donï¿½t worry, I wash it first!) and package it up nicely to give to friends. The recipe I use is mostly in my head but this one is pretty close to how I do it.

Serves: makes about 7 lbs (thatï¿½s 7 big jam jars full!) ï¿½ you might want to make a smaller quantity if its your first go!
Prep: 30 min, plus overnight standing time

Ingredients
1 lb currants
1 lb raisins
1 lb sultanas
1 lb cooking apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped or coarsely grated
1 lb vegetarian suet
4 oz blanched almonds, roughly chopped
1 lb light brown Muscovado sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1.5 tsp Mixed spice
1 lemon, grated rind and juice
1 orange, grated rind and juice
7 oz candied mixed peel, chopped
8 fl oz dark rum
10 fl oz dry sherry

Method

Mix everything together in a really large bowl or similar receptacle. It's a good idea to get stuck in and use your hands for this. Cover the bowl and leave on one side for a day so that the flavours can develop. Give it a good stir now and again.
Pack the mincemeat into sterilised jars, seal with greaseproof paper jam pot covers and tight-fitting lids. Store in a cool place - if you have the time, let the mincemeat mature for 2-3 weeks before using it for mince pies.

Mince pies

Makes around 16

The Pastry

(sorry! This oneï¿½s in metric. You can find conversion charts here: http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/conversion_charts.htm ) I use this pastry for EVERYTHING! It always works and you can make it in the food processor if you cant be bothered with all that rubbing in.

Makes 350g

225g plain flour
Pinch of salt
150g butter (cold, straight out of the fridge and chopped into chunks)
1 egg
25ml water

Sift the flour with the salt. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or pulse in the food processor until you get a similar effect!). Add the egg and water together and mix to a smooth dough (or drop the egg and water down the chute of the processor and switch on. Weird stuff will happen and then, all of a sudden, it will form itself into a big lump of dough. Fish it out and knead it gently for a moment or two on a floured board til its all smooth and lovely). Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 mins before using.

The Pies

Approx 250g mincemeat
One recipe of pastry (as above)

Roll the dough out on a floured board until its an eighth of an inch (3mm) thick. Cut out circles with a plain cutter and line shallow bun tins (not the big deep ones youï¿½d use for muffinsï¿½.unless you REALLY like mincemeat!). Press each circle down into the bun tins ï¿½ if you use a small ball of dough as a ï¿½presserï¿½ you wont poke your fingers through the pastry! Place a teaspoon of mincemeat in each pastry shell ï¿½ donï¿½t be tempted to fill the shells up to the top, the mincemeat will just boil over when it cooks and you will make a mess of your tins, your oven and the skin of your fingers when you try to prise the pies out of the tin! When you have lined as many tins as you can, use any trimmings/leftover pastry to make thin ribbons which you can lay over the top of the mincemeat in a cross shape. If you want to be less traditional (like me!), use a small star-shaped cutter and put a star of pastry on top of each pie ï¿½ NB the lid/cross/star doesnï¿½t have to cover all the pastry and its not necessary to damp the edges and seal the lid on like you would with, say, a big fruit pie.

Bake the pies at 180-190ï¿½C for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Dust the pies with a little icing sugar (powdered sugar) to serve. You can freeze the pies quite happily when theyï¿½re cold ï¿½ theyï¿½ll take a couple of hours to defrost and you can warm them in the oven for a few minutes if you like. Serve with a glass of something lovely!

Fruitcake

Easy peasy! I make this all the time, usually just for scoffing with a cup of tea but it does lend itself very well to being marzipanned and iced, too for a traditional Christmassy look. If you want some help with the ï¿½marzipan and icedï¿½ bit, email me and Iï¿½ll try to help. As Im posting this as a Christmas Cake recipe, I think you could at least ice the topï¿½.couldnt you? Then you can just bung a cake frill around the outside and voila!

6 oz brown sugar
12 oz dried fruit (raisins, sultanas etc ï¿½ variable proportions is fine. Most of it ï¿½ at least 8 oz - should be vine fruits but you can add some dried apricots, prunes, cranberries or whatever you like best)
4 oz glace cherries
4 oz butter
6 oz pineapple (canned is fine) chopped
6 fl oz pineapple juice (if you use canned pineapple in juice, youï¿½ll probably have enough juice in the can. If your pineapple is in syrup, drain that off but donï¿½t use it in the recipe. You can substitute orange juice or apple juice if you like)

Preheat the oven to 160ï¿½C, 310ï¿½F, gas Mark 3. Line a 7ï¿½ springform tin with silicon paper. Put all the above ingredients in a large saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring occasionally. Boil gently for 10 minutes then leave to cool a little (say 20 minutes or so). Then, beat in:

2 large eggs
8 oz self raising flour

Its quite important to let the boiled mixture cool down a bit, unless you want raisin omelette the second you put the eggs in!

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin, smooth the top over and bake for 1 ï¿½ 1ï¿½ hours until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the tin (leave the paper on for now) and leave to cool.

If you want to use the cake for Christmas, Iï¿½d suggest jabbing a few holes on the top of it when its cool and pouring over a capful of your favourite spirit (whisky, brandy, rum etc. I wouldnï¿½t use gin or vodka tho if I were you). Wrap it tightly in clingfilm and add another capful of booze once a week, until youï¿½re ready to ice it.

back - forth