Mindful Mince Pies

A pleasure to make, even better to eat!

Preparation: 30 minutes (ish) Makes: 12 tasty mince pies

Ingredients: As you gather these consider where they have come from, the sun and rain, the soil, the animals, the people, the processes…

For the pastry:
300g Plain Flour
100g Caster Sugar
200g Butter
1 Egg

For the filling:
1 x 400g jar Mincemeat
1 tangerine
1 small apple

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200^oc. Grease a cupcake/muffin tray with a little butter.
2. Put the flour in a bowl and chop the butter into it. Find a comfy spot. I like to sit on the kitchen floor and put the bowl on the floor in front of me. Put your clean hands into the flour and butter. Close your eyes. Notice how smooth the flour is and the silkiness of the butter. Lightly rub the flour and butter between your fingertips until the mix becomes crumble-like.
3. Add the sugar and most, but not all, of the egg (we are saving a bit to glaze the pies at the end). Mix until it just comes together. Pop it into the fridge to chill. Take a moment to be grateful for everything that you have in your fridge.
4. Now it’s time to prepare the filling ingredients. Zest the tangerine, ah! The smell! Chop the flesh of the tangerine. Finely dice the apple. You can leave the skin on. Add the mincemeat to the bowl, mix, and inhale the aroma deeply.
5. Collect the pastry from the fridge. Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick, feel the resistance as you do so and use your whole body. Feel your feet on the floor, feel the rolling pin in your hands. What can you see where you are right now? What can you hear? What can you smell?
6. With a round pastry cutter, cut out 12 x 10cm discs of pastry. Sometimes the pastry gets a bit stuck to the work surface – don’t worry about it, just peel it off and roll it out again. You can do this a few times with no adverse effects.
7. Press the pastry into the greased cupcake tray and fill with a generous, juicy spoonful of mincemeat. Share it out equally between the 12 pies.
8. Make 12 lids the same way you made the pie bases – you could make round ones or any shape you like. I like stars. Pop them lightly on top of the mincemeat and then brush over the remaining egg and sprinkle with caster sugar.
9. Bake for about 15 minutes – keep an eye on them and keep your nose alert. Once they look golden brown allow them to cool a little and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
10. Eat and enjoy! How does your pie smell and taste? Does it evoke memories? Who could you share some with?