FLOWER POT KITCHEN: TRADITIONAL HOME MADE MINCE MEAT MINCE PIES WITH OLD FASHIONED SHORT PASTRY

5 Dec 2011

TRADITIONAL HOME MADE MINCE MEAT MINCE PIES WITH OLD FASHIONED SHORT PASTRY

TRADITIONAL MINCE PIE

I LOVE MAKING FOOD GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS

THE PASTRY

450g plain flour

100g stork or butter

110g lard

Pinch of salt

175ml water

THE METHOD:

Season the flour and rub in 1/4 of the lard, grate the rest in to the flour and grate the butter or stork. Using a knife cut in to the four. Add the water and bring together to form a ball and knead gently. Wrap in parchment paper and leave in the fridge for approx 1 hour to chill and relax. This method gives the cooked pastry a light crumbly texture.

Roll out the pastry and cut out circles, egg wash the edge of one circle, place a dollop of homemade mince meat in the centre and top with the other pastry circle, pinch the edges together and brush the top with egg wash, dust with golden caster sugar and bake for approx 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

HOMEMADE MINCE MEAT FILLING

100g currents

75g raisins

75g sultanas

100g cranberries

100g mixed peel

1 orange zested

2 orange juiced

1 lemon zested/juice

2 tsp mixed spice

1/4 tsp cloves ground

1/4 tsp ground ginger

100ml brandy

100ml orange liquor

100g muscadavo sugar

100g veg suet

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan except the sugar and suet. Bring up to a gently simmer and cook for approx 30 minutes. Leave to cool, then add the sugar and suet, mix well. Sterilise jars in the oven and fill, these will keep for 6months on the shelf maturing the flavour.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.