Stephanie Achar Recipe: Healthy Mince Pies

Mince pies are a must at Christmas, but they don't have to be stodgy and packed with sugar. Here's a lighter vegetarian version of the traditional recipe from Culture Whisper's healthy food guru, Stephanie Achar.

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HEALTHY MINCE PIES

I grew up eating Christmas “bûches”, marrons glacés and chocolate truffles so it took me ages to appreciate mince pies. I thought of them only as packaged supermarket food but rediscovered them thanks to Renee Elliott, the founder of Planet Organic. She taught me how to make a healthy, wholegrain version of this shop bought English Christmas delicacy.

The 'mince' comprises a burst of spiced oranges, cranberries, apricots and sultanas inside a wholegrain pastry. They are packed with nutrients and delicately sweetened by the dried fruits.

I also make a gluten free version using teff flour instead of a mixture of spelt and kamut flour. Although this gives the pastry a crumblier texture, I personally prefer the deeper flavour which perfectly balances the sweetness of the mince.


INGREDIENTS

(Makes 12 mince pies)

For the crust

120g wholegrain spelt flour

155g wholegrain kamut flour

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

100g cold butter, cubed

2 tbsp plain yoghurt

8-9 tablespoons of water


For the mince

70g apricots

70g sultanas

70g dried cranberries

1 apple, chopped into small pieces

25g flaked almonds

The juice and zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of ground all spice


METHOD

To make the pastry: place the flours, salt, cold butter, yoghurt and water in a food processor and mix.

Remove the dough. It should form a ball andy hold together easily. If too crumbly add a little more water. Rest pastry for an hour or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 180C

Soak the mixture of sultanas, dried apricots and dried cranberries in 4 ounces of water

Add the apple, almonds, cinnamon, all spice, orange zest and juice to the dried fruits.

Sprinkle flour over a surface and roll the dough out.

Use a 8-10cm pastry cutter and cut 12 circles rounds.

Use a knife to cut 12 smaller star shapes.

Fit the rounds of pastry in a muffin tin, fill them with the mince mixture and then place the pastry star on top.

Bake in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes. Enjoy!

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Vegetarian, free from refined sugar

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Stéphanie Achar: Simple and Healthy



Stéphanie Achar is a qualified nutritional therapist and health coach based in South West London. She is collaborating with Culture Whisper to create a series of seasonal, wholesome and nutritionally balanced recipes.

Find more recipes or book a free nutrition consultation with Stéphanie on her website, www.simpleandhealthy.com