My Lady of Portland's Mince PyesOrigin: British Period: Elizabethan |
Original RecipeMy Lady of Portland's Mince Pyes (from Sir Kenelm Digby The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelm Digby Opened,)Take four pounds of Beef, Veal or Neats-Tongues, and eight pounds of suet; and mince both the meat and Suet very small, before you put them together. Then mingle them well together and mince it very small, and put to it six pounds of Currants washed and picked very clean. Then take the Peel of two Lemons, and half a score of Pippins, and mince them very small. Then take above and Ounce of Nutmeg, and a quarter of an ounce of Mace, some Cloves and Cinnamon, and put them together, and sweeten them with Rose-water and Sugar. And when you are ready to put them into your Paste, take Citron and Orangiadoe, and slice them very thin, and lay them upon the meat. If you please, put dates upon the top of them. And put amongst the meat an Ounce of Caraway seeds. Be sure you have very fine Paste. 
Modern RedactionThe mince pye presented here is an evolution of the Medieval Christmas recipe which would have used beef and venison offal with maybe apples; making it essentially a meat-based dish. The version presented here now has more fruit than meat in it and is the precursor of the Elizabethan fruit and suet-based Mince Pie that is essential element of any British Christmas. Ingredients:
600g minced beef Method:This recipe calls for a fine pastry. I recommend using my recipe for saffron short paest (short-crust pastry). Make enough of this to line the base of a 25cm diameter pie dish and to provide a lid for the pie. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the mince for a few minutes. Tip into a bowl and allow to cool. Once cold add the suet, currants, grated apples, grated lemon and spices. Mix together well and tip into your pie dish. Top with the dates and cover with the lemon and orange slices then add the pastry topping. Bind the bottom and top pieces of pastry together by pressing down with the tines of a fork then prick the surface of the top pastry a number of times to allow steam to escape. Place in an oven pre-heated to 160°C and bake for about 40 minutes or until the pastry is a light golden brown in colour. Serve warm. The beef version of this recipe works extremely well and the combination of flavours makes a great winter treat. However, if you can get hold of minced venison this works even better. Find more Christmas Recipes Here |
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