Sweet Mincemeat Samosas

Pat Chapman's Curry Club Indian Restaurant Cookbook

It wasn't until Victorian times that traditional savoury mincemeat gave way to the sweet version we know today. Here I've gone a stage further, and taken a light, fresh mincemeat recipe and spiced it up to make an alternative samosa suitable for a spicier Christmas.

Ingredients

14oz (400g) fresh (ready-made, frozen or home-made) puff pastry

egg white for sealing and glazing

Filling

4oz (115g) Cox's apples, peeled, cored and chopped small

10oz (300g) mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants)

1/2 oz (15g) mixed peel, very finely chopped

4oz (115g) grapes (black or green), peeled, seeded and chopped

4oz (115g) chopped mixed nuts

3oz (75g) caster sugar

juice and rind of 1/2 small lemon

1 teaspoon melted butter or ghee

dash of sweet sherry

1 teaspoon ground almond

Method

Four the filling, mix all the ingredients and spices together.

Roll out the puff pastry, keeping the oblong shape if you've used frozen or ready-made (make it oblong in shape if you've made it your own). Cut into quarters, then cut each portion again into four, and roll any sections that need it into a near a square as you can get.

To make the samosas, brush two edges of a square with egg white. Place 2 teaspoons of filling onto the square and fold one corner to its diagonal opposite. Seal well. Brush with egg white. Repeat until all pastry squares are used up.

Bake in a preheated oven at 450˙F (230˙C) Gas 8, for 10-15 minutes until the pastry has risen and is golden. Serve as finger foods with drinks or with whipped cream as a dessert. I prefer them hot.

Makes 16.