Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Mincemeat holiday dishes

Mincemeat tarts have been a tradition during the holiday season for centuries.

Though the filling was originally savoury — in the Middle Ages, they were a means of preserving meat, often game or mutton — over the years the mixture has evolved to contain chopped or grated apples, simmered or macerated with dried fruit, citrus, sugar, spirits and spices.

In Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, a guide to running a household in Victorian Britain published in 1861, Isabella Beeton's "Excellent Mincemeat" calls for the same ingredients most recipes call for today.

That is: lemons or oranges, apples, raisins (which come without seeds, so don't need to be seeded anymore), moist brown sugar, brandy and suet (beef fat), which is less common these days.

If you can't find a jar on the grocery store shelf — or would rather not venture out — it's simple to make at home, and the ingredients and quantities are very flexible.

These days, some traditionalists seek out suet (your butcher likely has some) for their mincemeat, but butter is an excellent alternative.

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Though some combine raw fruits, sugar and spirits to mature in the basement for a few weeks, I prefer to cook it on the stovetop until it breaks down into a thick, aromatic compote. This  can be used as a filling in cookies or squares, stirred into oatmeal, rolled into dough — think of cinnamon buns — and yes, used for filling mince tarts.

English tradition dictates that the mixture be stirred clockwise for good luck, and that you should eat a mince pie every day for the Twelve Days of Christmas — Christmas Eve until the 5th of January — which is excellent advice regardless.

Here's a basic mincemeat recipe that can be used as a guide — there's no need for precision.

Simmer chopped apples and/or pears and the grated zest plus juice of an orange and/or lemon (or more than one!) with raisins and currants, or experiment with other chopped dried fruits, and brown sugar (or even golden syrup or treacle) and spices until you have a thick preserve that suits your taste.

Chopped nuts can be stirred in once the mixture is cool if you like, with a bit of grated butter.

It will keep in the fridge for weeks, and freezes very well.

Homemade Mincemeat

Making a batch of mincemeat is incredibly easy — you can use apples, pears, or even quince, if you can find some and whatever dried fruit you like. I buy my quince each year at DJ Market, which is now closed for the season.

Besides raisins and currants, chopped dried apricots, figs and prunes would also be delicious.

The measurements here are pretty flexible — I used to use 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, but decided this year to cut it back, and it's just fine.

Just cook the mixture until it's thick and a bit saucy — remember it will thicken further as it cools.

Taste and add more citrus, sugar or spices if it needs it! And if it gets too thick, you can loosen it with juice, booze or water.

Ingredients:

•  3 apples and/or pears, half coarsely grated and half chopped, I don't bother peeling them
• grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1-2 cups raisins, some dark, some light, if you have both
• 1 cup currants
• 1 cup packed brown sugar, dark or golden
• 1/2-1 cup orange juice, rum, brandy or water
• 1-2 cinnamon sticks ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, ginger and/or allspice
• if you like pinch salt
• 1/4 cup butter, grated
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional)

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the butter and walnuts or pecans, if you're using them.

Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 20-30 minutes, until dark golden and thick.

Add a little more liquid if it needs it, if the mixture is looking dry — this will depend on the juiciness of your fruit, and how dry your dried fruit is.

It should be thick and slightly saucy — if there is juice in the bottom of your saucepan, make sure it's syrupy — your spoon should leave a trail through it.

Remove from the heat and let cool; stir in the grated butter once it's cool enough to not melt it, and the nuts, if you're using them.

Store in a sealed container or jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or process for shelf storage or freeze for up to a year.

Makes about 1 L.

Mincemeat Crumble Squares

I love the combination of fruit mincemeat and crumble — these bars are like a date square, with extra crumble, and can be less intimidating for many bakers than tarts or a pie.

You can eat them out of hand, or warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, grated or cut into pieces
• 1 1/2-2 cups of your favourite mincemeat

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.

Grate in the butter, or add it in pieces, and blend with a fork or your fingers until the mixture is well combined and crumbly. Alternatively, blitz it all together in the bowl of a food processor.

 Press a little more than half into the bottom of a parchment-lined 9x9-inch pan.

Spread with the mincemeat, and sprinkle the rest of the crumble mixture on top, squeezing a bit as you go to create larger crumbs.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden.

Cool slightly and cut into 9 squares.

Mincemeat Olliebollen

Though my Dad immigrated from Belgium as a kid, and Flemish was his first language, I didn't actually grow up with olliebollen, which roughly translates to oil balls.

In Flanders, it's also known as smoutebollen, and is traditionally made on New Year's Day.

The fried fritters, which you drop by the spoonful into hot oil to cook, are often made with currants, chopped apple and/or candied peel, which reminded me of mincemeat—so why not?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk, warmed to lukewarm
• 2 tsp yeast
• 2—2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2-1 cup all-fruit mincemeat
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp melted butter or canola oil
• 1/4 tsp salt canola or other neutral vegetable oil, for frying
• icing sugar, for dusting

Put the milk in a large bowl and sprinkle with the yeast; set aside to dissolve. If you're worried about its age, make sure it gets foamy—if it doesn't it's likely inactive.

 Add 2 cups of the flour along with the mincemeat, egg, melted butter and salt and mix until you have a thick batter.

If you used very wet mincemeat, you might need another quarter or half cup of flour — it should have the consistency of thick cake batter, and it will thicken further as it rests.

Heat a couple inches of oil in a shallow, heavy pan set over medium-high heat until it's hot, but not smoking — if you have a thermometer, aim for 350 Celsius or 375 Fahrenheit.

Drop the batter by the tablespoonful into the oil, without crowding the pot, and cook for a couple minutes per side, flipping gently with a chopstick, tongs or a slotted spoon as they turn golden.

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and shower with icing sugar while still warm.

Makes about 2 dozen olliebollen.

• Check out Julie Van Rosendaal's full interview on the Calgary Eyeopener below: