Mince Pies with a Wine Pairing

Marjorie’s Wine Pairing

It’s Christmaaaaaas! And it wouldn’t be Christmas without awkward office parties, dodgy jumpers, meltdown over the turkey (to brine or not to brine?), and of course, mince pies! But which wine can we pair them with?

The golden rule when it comes to sweet food like mince pies is to pair with a wine equally as sweet. Failure to follow this rule would result to a total disaster. Just for a bad (crackers) joke, try it with a bone dry Pinot Grigio or Chablis and you will understand what I mean.

To pair with the flaky pastry and the richness of the filling, I am thinking about matching those delicious dried fruit flavours with a sweet Marsala, such as Pellegrino Marsala Superiore Garibaldi Dolce (available at Ocado).

Marsala is a fortified wine made from native Sicilian grapes grown in the small town of Marsala, in the province of Trapani, on the west coast of Sicily. It is aged for a long time and offers some wonderful notes of caramelized nuts, citrus peel and dried fig, as well as coffee and sweet spices like cinnamon and vanilla. Smooth and decadent, it will work wonders with those festive mince pies. By the way, it will also be just perfect with Christmas pudding and your cheeseboard!

Merry Christmas!

Mince Pies

Note: This mix should be made a minimum of 24 hours before using to fill mince pies to allow the fruit to absorb all the liquid.

110g melted butter 

110g grated Bramley apple 

450g mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants) 

110g demerara sugar 

110g mixed peel 

100g flaked almonds (chopped) 

55g finely grated carrot 

1 tsp mixed spice 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp nutmeg 

1 lemon – juice and zest 

300ml whiskey or Guinness (or use 300ml of tea as an alcohol-free alternative)

1 portion of sweet short crust pastry

Method

1. Melt butter and allow to cool slightly.
2. Combine all of the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and thoroughly mix with the cooled butter.
3. Ensure all of the mix has been coated in the butter and alcohol so that the fruit can soften and absorb the liquid.
4. Cover and allow to marinate for 24 hours minimum at room temperature before using.
5. At this stage, the mincemeat can be stored for 2-3 weeks in a sealed container in the fridge or for up to 3 months in a sterilized jar.
6. Prepare the pastry you are using, like sweet rich short crust, and line a non-stick muffin tin or mince pie tin.
7. Fill with the mincemeat and cover with a small disc of pastry, using some water to stick it to the pastry case.
8. Pierce the top of the mince pies with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape and sprinkle with caster sugar.
9. To make mini mice pies, use a mini muffin tin and stamp out rounds of pastry to fit. Fill with the mincemeat and cover with a small disc of pastry or stamp out stars (or other festive shapes) and place on top of the mincemeat. If there is any leftover pastry, you can freeze it in a puck wrapped in cling film for up to 1 month.
10. Bake @ 190°c (170°c fan) for 12-15 mins until golden.
11. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin.