Calabrian mince pies
- Dessert
- Medium
- Makes 7
- 60 minutes
PT1H
Francesco Mazzei shares his recipe for Calabrian mince pies. He recommends enjoying one with a glass of Marsala, for the perfect after dinner treat. This recipe is taken from Francesco Mazzei's book Recipes from Southern Italy, (Penguin Random House, November 2015).
Ingredients
Pastry
- 2 eggs
- 500ml of strong plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp of Marsala wine
- 200g of whipping cream
- 10g of lard, or olive oil or butter
Pastry filling
- 50g of walnuts
- 50 hazelnuts
- 50g of pistachio nut
- 50 dried figs , roughly chopped
- 50g of dried apricots , roughly chopped
- 150g of heather blossom honey
To finish
- 2 egg yolks , beaten
- 250ml of mosto cotto
Method
1
Mix all of the pastry ingredients together using a spatula until fully combined. You should have a soft but not sticky dough. Form the dough into a ball, cover with cling film and chill overnight
- 10g of lard, or olive oil or butter
- 2 eggs
- 500ml of strong plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp of Marsala wine
- 200g of whipping cream
2
For the filling, put the nuts and dried fruit into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the honey and pulse again until you have a chunky paste. Chill overnight
- 150g of heather blossom honey
- 50g of walnuts
- 50 hazelnuts
- 50g of pistachio nut
- 50 dried figs , roughly chopped
- 50g of dried apricots , roughly chopped
3
The next day, heat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with paper
4
On a lightly floured work surface or using a pasta machine, roll the pastry into a 1mm thick rectangle. The pasta machine is the easiest way to ensure it's thin enough; you should almost see your hand through it when you lift it up. Trim the edges and cut the pastry into strips of 25x4cm (I used a crimped pastry cutter for this) then brush them with the beaten egg yolk
- 2 egg yolks , beaten
5
Dust a work surface very lightly with icing sugar, then roll the filling into 1.5cm-diameter sausages long enough to fit the length of the pastry (25cm). Lay the rolls down the middle of each pastry strip, wrap the pastry up around it and brush the top and sides with more beaten egg so that they stick together
6
Carefully roll the filled pastry into a pinwheel shape. Repeat – you should have seven pinwheels. Place on the lined tray and bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden brown
7
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, drizzle over the mosto cotto (they should be drenched) and serve
- 250ml of mosto cotto
Discover more:
Go to Comments
Calabrian mince pies
