Filo Pastry Mince Pies ( Vegan Guest Recipe)

Posted on by Andy De Santis

My brand new British guest blogger Harpreet has one more great recipe up her sleeve!

Filo Pastry Mince Pies – makes 24 medium size pies, using a 12-hole muffin tray

These are a twist on conventional mince pies, which I adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe to make them vegan! You can buy the filo and puff pastry featured in this recipe, ready-made from the shops – it’s way easier than making pastry yourself!

Ingredients:

  • 130g mincemeat

  • 25g dried apricots, chopped into small pieces

  • 1 large orange, zested and juiced.

  • Plain flour, for dusting

  • 320g pack of puff pastry, ready-made (check the ingredients – most are vegan!)

  • 50g of vegan margarine, melted

  • 270g pack of filo pastry, 6-7 sheets

  • 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk, for glazing

  • 25g flaked almonds

  • Icing sugar, for dusting

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan oven/ 400°F.

  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the mincemeat, dried apricots, orange zest and a splash of orange juice.

  3. Dust a clean work surface lightly with flour and roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle of about 25cm x 45cm and thickness of 3-4mm.

  4. Thinly spread the mincemeat mixture, evenly across the puff pastry. Leave a 1cm gap around the edges.

  5. Roll up the puff pastry lengthways into a tight roll (like a Swiss roll) and place it on a lightly floured tray. Then place in the fridge to firm up.

  6. Melt the margarine and lightly grease each hole of two 12-hole muffin trays.

  7. Cut the filo sheets into squares of about 12cm x s12cm. Carefully push one square into each hole and brush all over with melted margarine. Then cover the first filo square with a second filo square and brush again with melted margarine.

  8. Remove the puff pastry roll from the fridge and slice up into 24 round slices. Place each round slice (swirl side up) into the filo-lined holes.

  9. Brush with milk and sprinkle a few flaked almonds on top. Lightly dust with icing sugar.

  10. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the puff pastry is cooked through, crispy and golden brown.

  11. Leave to cool in tins for 10 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

  12. Give the pies a final light dust with icing sugar before serving.

You can prepare these mince pies and freeze them, uncooked in the trays + wrap in cling film – you’ll need lots of room in your freezer though! Once cooked, store in an air-tight container to keep crisp.