Fruit-Packed Filo Mince Pies

SERVES: 12

Ingredients:

75g (2.6oz) dried dates
75g (2.6oz) sultanas
50g (1.7oz) cranberries
A medium apple
A large carrot
300ml (10.5fl oz) orange juice
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp mixed spice
1/2tsp cinnamon
2  tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tbsp ground almonds
3 sheets of filo pastry

Recipe Summary:

If you want a great guilt-free Christmas treat, this mince pie recipe is for you. It’s much lower in fat and calories than the shop bought kind, and is packed with tasty dried fruit. The addition of the carrot and breadcrumbs might seem strange but they both help lighten the filling. I’ve used an extra teaspoon of ground ginger for its possible anti-inflammatory potential. If you are a real ginger fan, you could even try adding fresh ginger to create a slightly ‘gingerbread’ flavoured tart.

Please don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients or directions – it’s actually a very straightforward recipe. You can even make the mincemeat in advance and store it in the fridge until you want to fill the pies. If you find lining small muffin tins with pastry too fiddly, try making up one large mince pie with the filo dough.

Using a food processor to do the chopping make things quick and easy but if you don’t have one, buy a mix of pre-chopped dried fruit and grate the apple and carrot instead.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Method:

Directions:
Roughly chop the apple and carrot (no need to peel the carrot if it has been scrubbed and is organic). Put them in a food processor along with the dried fruit, juice and spices. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should thicken up and smell slightly caramelised. Take off the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs and almonds. Allow to cool. You can keep the mincemeat in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Lay the three sheets of filo pastry out on a large board. Cut the sheets into 12 squares using kitchen scissors (this should give you 36 individual squares when you separate out the layers).

Spray the entire top layer with oil spray and then peel off each individual square of pasty and press, oily side down, into a muffin tin. Spray the next sheet with oil and repeat the process but stack the square at an angle so you are forming a star shape. Repeat with the final layer.

Fill the pastry cases with a heaped teaspoonful of the mincemeat and bake at 180C for 10 minutes or until the mince pies are golden.