Mouthwatering winter pies

Here’s how you can make your own pie and have a slice of it too

Pies have always been a winter speciality. From lip-smacking sweet delicacies to savoury ones, there is a lot that one can expect from the world of pies.

And yes, the heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth goodies that are made of puff pastry or short crust pastry, are usually two to three inches in diameter. However, the American version, like a lot of their other foods, is usually four times larger!

Mince pies, however, are a British tradition and are usually eaten during the cold months. “Mince” comes from the word “mincemeat”, which interestingly no longer contains meat. Mince pies evolved from a medieval pastry called “chewette”. It was made with chopped meat or liver, boiled eggs, ginger, dried fruit and other sweet ingredients. It was fried or baked. And during the 17th century, meat products were replaced with suet, a beef or mutton fat. Vegetable fat can also be used to suit vegetarian diets.

By the 19th century in Great Britain and North America, mince pies no longer contained meat. The suet pies are still made today, but they usually vary from the traditional version.

Today, mince pies are traditionally filled with fruit mincemeat, also known as fruit mince, containing dried fruit (raisins, currants, cherries, apricots, candied peels), spices (cinnamon or nutmeg), nuts (walnuts or almonds), suet and alcohol (brandy or rum). The pie is cooked and dusted with sugar.

But be careful! Legend has it that one needs to stir the mincemeat mixture clockwise only, because stirring it counter clockwise will bring you bad luck.

And for those who love to talk while eating,remember if you don’t eat your pie in silence, it will bring you bad luck!

Red cherry apple pie

Ingredients

Red cherry apple filling

300 gm red cherry

100 gm sugar

4 apples (peeled and diced)

20 gm corn starch

50 gm almond meal

2 gm cinnamon powder

For Short crust pastry

150 gm icing sugar

200 gm unsalted butter

40 gm egg yolk

2 ml vanilla extract

100 ml milk

450 gm flour

Method

For red cherry apple filling

Cook the red cherry with sugar and reduce, add diced apple and cook for a while longer. Add cornstarch and stir well.

Mix cinnamon powder with almond meal and add to the apple cherry mixture, keep aside and allow to cool.

For short crust

Cream icing sugar and butter together, add egg yolks one by one and make a smooth paste, add vanilla extract then add flour and milk together and fold carefully. Keep the short crust mixture in the refrigerator for chilling.

Line the pie base with short crust and fill with red cherry apple filling and cover the sides of pie with short crust design cuts.

Brush with milk and bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 20 minutes or until the top crust turns golden brown. Allow the pie to cool and de-mould it.

Mince pie

Ingredients

Mince pie mixture

200 gm sultana

100 gm raisins

100 gm red cherry

50 gm black currant

50 gm mixed peel

Almond diced

100 gm raspberry jam

60 ml rum

Short crust pastry

150 gm icing sugar

200 gm unsalted butter

40 gm egg yolk

2 ml vanilla extract

100 ml milk

450 gm flour

Method

For Mince pie mixture

Mix all ingredients together and marinate for two days.

For Short crust

Cream icing sugar and butter together, add egg yolks one by one and make a smooth paste; add vanilla extract then add flour and milk together and fold carefully. Keep the short crust pastry in the refrigerator for chilling.

Line the pie base with short crust and fill with mince pie mixture and cover with short crust with a star design. Brush with milk and bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 20 minutes or until the top crust turns golden. Allow to cool and de-mould it.

Lamb shank pie

Ingredients

Lamb shank mixture

2 lamb shanks

100 gm lamb mince

50 gm carrot, finely diced

50 gm chopped onion

25 gm garlic chopped

25 gm leek chopped

25 gm celery stalk chopped

50 ml red wine

50 ml tomato puree

1 bay leaf, a few peppercorns

25 ml refined oil

Short crust pastry

Salt to taste

200 gm unsalted butter

40 gm egg yolk

100 ml milk

400 gm flour

Method For shank pie mixture

Cook onion, carrot, leek, celery and garlic with bay leaf and peppercorns till soft. Add lamb mince and cook for another five minutes. Sear lamb shanks separately and add, braise till tender in a pot over low flame. Cook till the meat becomes soft and tears from the bone easily. Separate the bones from the mixture, reduce and cool. Season to taste.

For short crust pastry

Cream butter, add egg yolks one by one and make a smooth paste. Then add flour milk and salt together and fold carefully. Keep the short crust paste in the refrigerator for chilling. Line the pie base with short crust and fill with shank pie mixture and cover with more short crust with any design. Brush with milk and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 20 minutes or until the top crust is golden. Allow to cool and de-mould it.