Magnificent Mincemeat

Ingredients

• 1 organic lemon
• 50 g unrefined cane sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 100 g fresh suet cut in 2 cm pieces, or chilled unsalted butter cut in pieces, or solid coconut oil
• 100 g cooking apples, weighed without skin and cores
• 1 Tbsp (15-20 g) brandy
• 100 g dried currants or dried cranberries – see 4th tip
• 100 g raisins, e.g. Thompson, Flame or any dark coloured raisins
• 100 g dried sultanas or golden raisins

Method

1. Thinly peel yellow zest (without pith) from half of the lemon, then grind sugar, lemon peelings, ground cinnamon and ground mixed spice 20 sec/speed 10.
2. Add suet (or chilled butter or solid coconut oil), chop 5 sec/speed 6 and repeat if required until evenly chopped.
3. Squeeze juice from lemon, then add lemon juice, apples and brandy. Chop 10 sec/speed 3½ and repeat if required until evenly chopped – see 2nd tip if doubling or tripling recipe.
4. Add dried fruit and mix 20 sec/reverse/speed 3 (see 3rd tip if tripling), scrape down sides of TM bowl with spatula, then spoon into sterilised jars and cover with sterilised lids. Use in recipes or store up to 1 year in a cold place. Stir well before using. Once opened, keep in fridge and use within 3 weeks.

Janie’s Tips

1. If you have a choice, buy dried fruits that have not been oiled (read the ingredients labels) to avoid the refined oils usually used for this process. However, if your dried fruits are oiled, weigh them into the TM simmering basket before starting this recipe, place simmering basket in sink, then pour just-boiled water from a kettle over the fruits to rinse off the oil; leave to drain 5 minutes before using in step 4.
2. In step 3, if tripling the recipe, stir with TM spatula through hole in TM lid while chopping.
3. In step 4, if making a triple recipe, weigh fruits into TM bowl then transfer entire mixture to a large bowl and mix together with spatula.
4. If dried currants are not available, use dried cranberries instead. Currants are tart, small berries grown in UK and are a popular dried fruit in traditional Christmas recipes. Dried cranberries can be substituted – like currants, they will give the right sour/sweet flavour balance in this recipe.
5. You can grind your own cinnamon and/or mixed spice in your Thermomix. Home ground spices will give wonderful extra flavour to this mincemeat as well as to many other recipes. Even store-bought ground spices will be enlivened by the grinding in step 1.
6. For almond mincemeat, in step 1 omit cinnamon and omit mixed spice; in step 2 use suet; in step 4 add 100 g blanched almonds with the dried fruits.
7. If coconut oil is used, store your jars of mincemeat in a cold place so the fat stays evenly distributed through the fruit. Stir well before using.
8. This recipe is gluten free (GF) – read all ingredient labels to ensure your ingredients are gluten free if gluten free is required.
9. For dairy free (DF) mincemeat, use suet or solid coconut oil instead of butter – read all ingredient labels to ensure your ingredients are dairy free if dairy free is required.
10. For vegetarian mincemeat, use butter or solid coconut oil instead of suet.
11. For vegan mincemeat, use solid coconut oil instead of suet or butter.