Mincemeat Baklava

Mincemeat Baklava is a modern Fusion recipe (based on a Greek original) for a classic Christmas or New Year baklava-style layered filo pastry pie with a mincemeat filling. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Fusion version of: Mincemeat Baklava.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

45 minutes

Total Time:

65 minutes

Additional Time:

(+over-night drying)

Makes:

20 squares

Rating:

Tags : Dessert Recipes Baking Recipes Fusion Recipes Fusion Recipes

When you think about it, mincemeat will make an ideal filling for baklava, a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey that was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. You can serve this as a dessert, as an after-dinner digestif with coffee or you can serve individual slices instead of mince pies. These work well through the festive season, as good as a Christmas Eve treat or as a New Year’s Eve nibble. For this recipe you will need a 30 x 20cm (12 x 8 in) baking tin.

Ingredients:

10 sheets frozen filo pastry
150g (3/4 cup) butter
750g (1 2/3 cups) mincemeat
150g (1 ½ cups) walnut halves
80g (1/2 cup) shelled pistachios
125g (1 ¼ cups) ground almonds

To finish
3 tbsp runny honey
juice of ½ lemon
3 tbsp shelled pistachios

Method:

Defrost the filo pastry. Melt the butter in a small pan and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/360°F/gas mark 4). Scoop the mincemeat in a mixing bowl. Finely chop the walnuts and the pistachios. (You can do this by hand, or you can pulse in a food processor, but don’t grind too finely) – the final texture should be quite rough and nubbly. Mix these through the mincemeat along with the ground almonds.

Place a sheet of filo pastry in the base of the baking tin and brush it with some of the butter. Follow this with another four sheets, buttering generously between each layer.

Spoon the filling over the pastry and lightly smooth the surface. Place the remaining sheets of filo on top, again buttering between each. Trim any overhanging pastry.

Score the surface layers of pastry with a large, sharp knife in a lattice fashion, each cut about 3cm (1 in) wide (do 6 each way). Transfer to your oven and bake for 40-45 minutes till crisp and deep golden brown.

Combine the honey and lemon into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. As the pastry comes from the oven immediately pour the mixture over the surface, then scatter with the chopped pistachios and set aside to cool. Cut into squares and store in an air-tight tin.