L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 40 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019 LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES A sprinkling of icing sugar makes them look like covered in snow (Copyright: Toni Brancatisano) Continued form page 38 refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Roll half of pastry out thinly and use a cutter to cut a dozen 7.5 cm diameter rounds, gather up the scraps and re-roll. Do the same with the other half of the pastry, this time using the 6 cm round cutter. Cut out desired shape from these rounds, or you may prefer to cover your mince pies with pastry stars. Line the cupcake tin with the larger pastry circles. Fill these with 1 tablespoon of mincemeat. Dampen the edges of the smaller rounds of pastry with milk and press them lightly into position to form lids, sealing the edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 1 8 0 C ° C u n t i l l i g h t g o l d e n brown. Cool on a wire tray and serve s p r i n k l e d w i t h i c i n g s u g a r . When cool, store in an airtight container. Notes about the filling Recommended to be made at least a month before using. I halved raisin quantity and added 250g dried blueberries, but you could also add cranber- ries too. A l t h o u g h m y m o t h e r would grate the suet into the mixture, I used strutto here in Italy, and there was no way I could grate it. You can melt it and pour it over mixture, or put the fruit mince on a very low heat until it is melted, stirring frequently. Remove as soon as suet has melted through. There are many recipes that don't use suet, and when I decided to look at other recipes, no two were the same. I am definitely sticking to this recipe though for nostalgic and sentimental reasons obviou- sly! Serving suggestions Now we all know how deli- cious they can be with a cup of tea, but don't forget how you c a n m a k e t h e m a d e c a d e n t dessert for a Christmas dinner party with a scoop of good qual- ity vanilla or zabaione gelato, or serve them warm with a dol- lop of brandy butter. I have to thank Matt Preston (Australian Masterchef judge) though for introducing me to a new Christmas addiction. It was in the December/January issue of Delicious (Australian food magazine) that I saw Matt serv- ing Christmas cake with gorgon- z o l a … a n d i t w a s a t t h a t moment I knew I had to try it with a mince pie! I went to my trustworthy and super fabu- lous deli Franchi (Via Cola di Rienzo, Roma) and bought a piece of gorgonzola that had been aged with blueberries (per- fect as I'd also added dried blue- berries to my fruit mince this year). There are NO WORDS to describe just how luxuriously delicious this combination is!

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