Black grape and walnut mince pies

I have fallen in love with black grapes recently. It happened by accident, I decided to buy them after being tired of the same apples/bananas/satsumas routine we have here every weekend. They are not only a great snack for sweet-tooths like me but I have also been adding them to a lot of different foods, from crumbles to granola. So why not add them to my most detested christmas treat?

Yes I hate mince pies. 

And it is tough being a mince pie hater here as it is a huge part of English christmas. They are literally everywhere, people are giving it to you as gifts, bringing them to work as a tea time snack…And you can get the really basic ones to the really fancy ones from high end shops, but it’s just never gone down well with me. It’s always just tasted like raisins, covered in sugar, wrapped in pastry.

But this year I decided to tackle them my way. My recipe holds back on the dried fruits and sugar and, most importantly, there is no suet in sight!

It takes a little patience to get the the mincemeat and the pastry ready, but you can start preparing it now and pop the mincemeat in the cupboard and pastry in the freezer and get the pies ready when you are ready to serve. I have to say, the recipe turned out really nice, especially the walnut pastry.

This recipe yields around 20 deep filled pies, and still leaves loads of mincemeat leftovers which you can keep in jars for around 4 months.

For the mincemeat:

2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped small

400g black seedless grapes, cut into small pieces

150g red currants

200g candied peel

200g dried cranberries 

150g butter

150g walnuts 

100g dark brown sugar 

Grated zest of a lemon

1 tsp ground nutmeg 

1/2 tsp ground cloves 

2 tsp ground cinnamon

15g cornflour

150ml Port

1. Combine all ingredients – apart from the Port – in a ovenproof bowl, mixing very thoroughly. Cover and leave it to rest for at least 12 hours

2. Preheat the oven to 100C. Place bowl in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes

3. As you let the mixture cool, stir from time to time. Once completely cool stir in the port and mix well. You can store the mincemeat in sterilised jars for up to 4 months.

For the pastry:

380g plain flour

50g ground walnuts

240g chilled unsalted butter, cubed

110g caster sugar

1 eggs plus one for glazing

1. Stir in the flour and ground walnuts together in a large bowl, then add the butter and rub in your fingertips until the mixture looks like crumbs. Stir in the sugar.

2. Break in the egg and work into the mixture with your fingers, breaking it together to form a soft dough.

3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball. Flatten with your fingers to a disc and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least 1 hour before using

4. Heat oven to 190C (fan). Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick. Using a round cutter (about 10cm), cut out bases and place them into muffin trays. Pop them in the freezer for 5 minutes.

5. Brush the cases with a little bit of the beaten egg. Fill the cases with the mincemeat up to the top. I chose to put a lid on some pies and on others just a start, if you do top them with lids brush the edge of each pie with a little beaten egg. Re-roll out the pastry to cut out the pie lids and stars and press them on top of the filling. Glaze with the rest of the egg wash and sprinkle with caster sugar.

6. Bake mince pies for 15-20 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool before releasing them from the muffin trays. I find that they are better eaten warm with a little cream.