it is one of the oldest and most beloved christmas traditions in england. santa eats his with a glass of port (instead of the usual cookie and milk he gets in the states). it does NOT involve meat. buuut it used to!

it’s the mince pie.

and this year, i thought i’d combine two things i love but have never tried: making my own mince pies, and using a recipe from nigella’s christmas cookbook. i made my very own mincemeat (again, completely vegan, i promise!) a few days ago and stored it in a big jar. yesterday i tackled the pastry – and with the help of my new food processor it was a total success!

heart-topped mince pies

courtesy of nigella’s christmas

this photo was taken by the glow of my laptop, mid-ichat conversation with my mom. even though she lives 6,000 miles away from me, she was the first to see them!

i went along with this recipe to a tee, although i subbed dairy-free margarine for butter and used a heart-shaped cutter instead of a star. just to start with, i made 12. didn’t want to overdo it in case they were a disaster (i’m not a master pastry chef… yet). but i’ll be making more this week to bring to a mulled wine and mince pie party my friends are hosting on sunday.

lesson learned: when making your own pastry, it’s important to have patience. ok so you have to be patient in pretty much all aspects of cooking, but especially here. nigella’s recipe insists you put the flour and butter/shortening in the freezer for 20 minutes before processing, and putting the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes before rolling out and forming into pies. it’s these extra steps that create a flaky pastry, apparently, and i’m not going to argue with her.

my cold has disappeared! this is most exciting. i woke up with a clear head and generally sunny outlook on life. funny how the day after a cold can do that to a person.

so dinner was nice and healthy. and i hadn’t even thought about the slight nod to british cuisine until phil said “it’s like the healthiest fish and chips ever”. agreed and noted.

healthy fish and chips

i found this recipe in delicious magazine a couple of months ago. but, had i read this recipe about a year ago, i would have said NO and turned the page. because i loathed fennel. but my tastebuds have done a bit of maturing this year. and this dish would SUCK without the fennel seeds. the amounts listed here perfectly serves 2.

the particulars:

• 2 small sweet potatoes
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, slightly crushed
• 2 sea bass fillets (skinned)
• olive oil

1. heat the oven to 400f or gas mark 6
2. cut the sweet potatoes into large wedges, and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes. drain.
3. put the potatoes on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, half the fennel seeds, salt, and pepper.
4. roast for 15 minutes until just tender.
5. season the fish and sprinkle over the rest of the fennel seeds and 1 tsp oil. add to the tray and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. serve with green salad. (the salad above has watercress, spinach, tomato quarters, mange tout, and cashews, with a homemade vinaigrette)

i am a big sweet potato fry fan – maybe just a sweet potato fan in general. and the fact that this dinner can be ready to eat in less than 30 minutes makes me grin from ear to ear. nothing beats a quick, yet still tasty, and HEALTHY (bonus!) dinner.

lesson learned: cook this more.