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| Raw Minced Pie with Cashew Cream |
Traditional Christmas Pie, Minced Pie, Mincedmeat Pie, Mutton Pie, Spiced Fruit Pie, whatever you call it, this holiday delicacy has its origins dating back to the 13th century and has stayed around for good reason. It was said that the crusaders brought back the culinary concept of mixing spices, meat and fruit together from their ventures to the Holy Land in the middle east. It's become a British holiday staple ever since and even has a following here in the states.
Today even though they are still called mincemeat pies, most are no longer made with meat. To be honest, the name "mincedmeat pie" was always a deterrent I could never get past so I never really wanted to try it. But for Rich the holidays just aren't complete without minced pie. With his birthday following Christmas I have always made an attempt to get him one of these pies for his "birthday cake" that he could eat all by himself and he's enjoyed this tradition. Yet it's getting harder and harder to find.
This year I looked into what exactly goes into minced pie and discovered that a mix of dried fruit and spices in a pastry crust sounds like a
perfect recipe for a raw version. I combined a few ideas and with Rich taste testing as I went, we have come up with a fantastic little pie filling!
It really tastes like a richly spiced apple pie!
If you have never had minced pie or even if you have, you owe it to yourself to try this new recipe. It really is tasty and is a perfect pie for fall and winter, not just the holidays.
Russell James' recipe for individual minced pies are all over the web this year and while I usually love all his recipes, and was anxious to try this one because of rave reviews, trying to make this into a single pie did not work out well for me. The crust tasted like uncooked flour probably because of the use of oat flour even though I dehydrated it until well dry. Plus luckily I checked to see if I would be able to get it out of the pie pan when serving
before I adding the filling. I couldn't. I had to just wash it all down the drain and even with water it was hard to remove.
I really hate that!
But since I was on a mission to make this birthday treat, I continued with another experiment and I'm glad that I did.
This one does not need a dehydrator so it's more simple and it's quite tasty. The filling is also a little different as I wanted to incorporate a rich mix of fruit flavors. I hope you enjoy!
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| Raw Minced Fruit Pie |
Minced Fruit Pie
For Crust:
2 cups of almond meal (almonds ground to flour)
1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup raisins (I used golden raisins)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut oil- liquid
Grind the almonds into a fine meal in the food processor or you can sometimes find almond meal in the stores. Add in the coconut, cinnamon and salt and pulse a few times. Add in the raisins and pulse until it is slightly sticky. Add in the oil and pulse until it is mixed through- but be careful to not over mix! It should just stick together between your fingers at the right consistency.
Press into tart or pie pans. You may want to use cling wrap or parchment first if it does not have a lift up bottom to make it easier to remove. I used a tart pan with a removable bottom and that worked out nicely when chilled until set. When ready for filling remove crust from tart pan if using or leave in pie pan.
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| Raw Pie/ Tart Crust after setting up in tart pan |
Note: If you plan to make the cashew cream topping, now would be a good time to soak the nuts!
For Filling:
1/2 cup clementine juice (orange would work fine too)
1/2 cup date paste (soft medjool dates mixed with enough water to form a paste)
1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped (can use dried currants)
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 small apples diced
1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp clementine zest minced (or orange)
1/4 cup agave nectar
Mix all but the apples and raisins in a food processor until well combined. Add in the raisins and apples and pulse a few times until coarsely ground. Taste for sweetness.
You can let the filling marinate in a closed container in the fridge if you like. It gets better with time. Once ready, spoon into crust and chill, while you make the topping. Or use this as a topping for raw ice cream or with the cashew cream alone- no crust required.
Cashew Cream Topping:
1 1/2 cup cashews, soaked at least 20 minutes.
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup agave
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
Blend all ingredients in high speed blender until creamy. Chill before serving.
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| Since it was his birthday- he had his second piece with cool whip but honestly I think the cashew cream is better! |
The verdict? He says it's better than any store bought pie - even though it's raw!
I know this will be a new tradition in our house now!
I hope you enjoy!
