Mince Pies - Stage I

Today I am at home, in the kitchen making the pastry for the mince pies.. I need to make 144 on Saturday and I want to get a head start by making the pastry today. To give you an idea I will make 4 times the following recipe* as an absolute minimum.

200g plain flour
pinch of salt
125g butter, cut into small cubes
50g caster sugar
1 egg

Sift the flour and salt onto into a bowl leaving a well in the centre. Work the butter into the flour, rubbing it in until the texture is like fine breadcrumbs. In a separate container, beat the egg and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.

I work the ingredients together until it feels like it's about to come together and then I form a loose ball of dough (it's usually sticky enough to hold together very well) and then wrap it in cling film until Saturday when Stage II will commence.

I used to use a food processor to do it, until I broke it two years ago, but it is just as easy to do it by hand and saves on the washing up as well.

SOH is keeping watch over the proceedings, he is a little indisposed after an operation at the moment and not at work so he is keeping me company in the kitchen.

* The recipe comes from a book entitled Practical Cookery by Ceserani & Kinton... I got my copy in 1977 when I started working in a professional kitchen and it has stayed with me ever since. What I like about it is the fact that it shows you all the joints of meat in a particular animal, and how to cut it... just about one of the best books around I think for budding chefs.