Well, this is the magic of British Christmas.

Mincemeat is the basic preserve you need to make amazing Christams sweets and treats in Britain, such as pies or puddings. I fell in love with it when I lived in London years ago. The taste feels something like Grandmother’s ovens. In origins it was made with fruits, sugar, vinegar, wine, fat and meat. Yes, meat (the name tells it all!). Today meat is rarely part of the recipe, pork suet instead is the only fat (so a connection with its meaty origins is still there).

Mincemeat is in the category of preserves and must be consumed in pies or puddings and if you want also with very savoury cheese.

It preserves like this up to 6 months and as per all preserves the more it ages, the more it gets better. Vegetarians can substitute suet with vegetable suet.

Makes 20 pies (7 cm diameter)

Ready in 1H30

400 grams all purpose flour

80 grams caster sugar

300 grams unsalted butter

80 grams cold water

a pinch of salt

filling

500 grams mince meat (recipe here)

1 apple, peeled and grated finely

zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

juice of half lemon

Pre-heat a traditional oven to 180° C (or 170° C if using a fan oven).

In a bowl mix all dry ingredients for the dough. Add the cold butter and with your fingertips start to mix them adding the cold water little by little, knead rapidly until the dough is firm and compact. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile mix all the ingredients of the filling. And butter the tins (in the pictures they are 7 cm diameter).

Roll the dough to 3 mm thick. And cut circles (in size with your tins). Crop also some other shapes (with a biscuit cutter at your choice – I picked a star biscuit cutter), to create the “lid”.

Line the tins with the dough, fill it in with the filling and close the top with the lid.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden. Let them cool before taking them out from the tins. Dust them with icing sugar before serving.

1 egg white

260 grams granulated sugar

125 grams honey

100 grams water

50 grams glucose syrup

150 grams pistachios or hazelnuts (or both)

icing sugar (as needed)

Toast the pistachios or hazelnuts into hot oven (180°C) for 10 minutes or until golden.

In a mixer, beat well the egg white with 30 grams of sugar until stiff.Maintain the mixer active low speed while you do the whole procedure.

In a heavy bottomed casserole put the reminaing sugar, the glucose syrup and the water and bring to boil. Let simmer untili t reaches the temperature of 155° C.

In another casserole bring the honey to a boil until it reaches 130° C.

Add slowly the honey to the egg whites (the mixer on medium speed).

After the honey add the sugar syrup (at 155° C), let it drip slowly from the sides of the container.

Continue whisking until room-temperature. Add now the pistachios and/or hazelnuts.

Meanwhile coat a recatngular baking tin (20×15 cm) with parchment paper, sprinkle with icing sugar, pour the mixture and with greased hands shape the mixture into a rectangular block. Pack with the other parchment paper and let cool down. Set aside for 10 hours before serving.