Fancy something a little different this Christmas? Here is my Festive Mincemeat stuffed Panettone French Toast. Rich and indulgent, this is sure to put a smile on your face.
Ingredients
1 thick slice of panettone
Mincemeat – use my quick and easy recipe to get the most delicious mincemeat for this dish
1 egg
50ml milk of choice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1 small knob of butter
To serve
Extra mincemeat
Yoghurt of choice
Berries of choice
Method
Take your thickly cut panettone and make a small pocket in the centre with a knife (like a pitta bread). Fill the pocket with 1-2 tsp mincemeat.
In a large dish crack the egg and add the milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well.
Soak the panettone in the egg mixture for 5 minutes on all sides.
Heat a frying pan over a low heat and add the butter.
Cook the panettone for 2-3 minutes per side till golden brown.
Serve topped with extra mincemeat, yoghurt and berries.
A simple wholemeal shortcrust pastry enriched with almonds and butter to give you 8 plant points in total if using my mincemeat recipe.
If you are using shop bought mincemeat you could try adding a little extra fibre diversity by adding in some grated apple, carrot or dried cranberries.
Mix the ground almonds, flour and butter in a large bowl with your fingertips till it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar, briefly mix, and then add the egg to bind. Knead the pastry till it forms a sticky ball, wrap it up and put it in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes. The pastry can be made using a food processor or can be made the day in advance.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/ 200°C convection
Take 2/3 of the pastry and roll to 4-5mm thickness using flour to stop it from sticking. Use a circular cutter 2cm bigger than the tin hole, gently dust the underside and press into the muffin tin. Repeat to make 8 lined holes in total.
Fill each pastry case with around 45g mincemeat, leaving a 1cm gap from the top.
Take the remaining 1/2 of the pastry and roll to a thickness of 2-3mm. Take a cutter the same size as the muffin tin and cut 8 lids.
Using milk or egg, brush the pastry case and stick the lid down.
Poke a hole in the top of each pie to allow the steam to escape.
Optional: decorate the top with any remaining pastry, sticking it in place with the milk or egg.
Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes till the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before taking out of the tray and allowing to cool on a wire rack.
Per mince pie: 358kcal/ 18.5g fat/ 10.3g saturated fat/ 41.2g carbohydrates/ 3.6g fibre/ 4.5g protein
Homemade mince pies are something special at Christmas. Taking it one step further and making your own mincemeat means you can decide what goes in. For me, shop bought mincemeat sometimes feels like it’s missing some of the fruit. Making your own mincemeat is so quick, and I guarantee the flavour will be so much better than the shop bought stuff, and it’s ready to use in just 24 hours so there’s no excuses for not making your own!
Mincemeat Ingredients
I use butter rather than suet in my recipe. I think this gives a much richer flavour, and is also vegetarian friendly. You’ll also see I don’t stop at just fruit. A sneaky carrot also makes it into the mix in my version. This is great for increasing the diversity of plant fibres in this recipe, which we know can be beneficial for your gut microbiota and gut health in general. Why not treat your microbes this Christmas too!
Overall this basic mincemeat recipe uses 6 different plant-based fibre sources, alongside mixed spice. You can substitute different fruit in depending on your taste, for example cherries, apricot or mixed peel.
A generous swig of cognac
Makes enough mincemeat for 24 deep filled individual mince pies
Recipe
200g sultanas
200g raisins
200g currants
100g dried cranberries
1 large carrot (or 3 small
like my allotment carrots!)
1 cooking apple
350g soft light brown sugar
175g fridge cold butter
(option to use vegetarian suet to make vegan, or to be a traditionalist and use
beef suet)
2 tsp ground mixed spice
1 organic orange
100ml cognac, brandy,
whisky or rum
Method
Coarsely grate the apple, carrot and butter.
Zest and juice the orange, taking as much of the segment flesh as possible.
Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. Set aside covered with a tea towel.
Stir occasionally for the next 24 hours.
Fill previously sterilised jars with the mincemeat, ensuring to push out all the air.
Seal and leave in a cool dark place for up to 6 months to mature.
Per 100g 304kcal/ 9.2g fat/ 5.9g saturated fat/ 49.5g carbohydrates/ 2.8g fibre/ 1.4g protein
Dr Pippa 