Food & Wine
Savoury Christmas mince pies
A darling old friend once asked how people made the mince taste so sweet in Christmas mince pies… the inspiration for this savoury version!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 500g lamb mince
- ⅓ cup dried apricots, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup lamb stock
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 900g ready-rolled savoury shortcrust pastry
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
- ½ cup good-quality apricot chutney
Method:
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan, add the onion and cumin seeds, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes or until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the lamb mince and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes, breaking up the mince with a fork.
- Add the apricots, rosemary and ground cumin and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring well, for 2 minutes. Add the stock, wine and Worcestershire sauce and mix to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C and spray two 12-hole muffin tins with baking spray. Cut circles in the pastry 1cm larger than the diameter of the tops of the holes. Press into the tins and fill with the lamb mixture. Top with pastry lids or go wild decorating with pastry cut-outs.
- Whisk the egg with the milk and brush over the pies, sprinkling with sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Serve with apricot chutney.
Written by Sarah Tuck. Republished with permission of Stuff.co.nz. Image credit: Tamara West/Stuff.