JALOUSIE STUFFED WITH MINCEMEAT

This dessert is so delicious and rich - and labor intensive - that it is probably best served only on holidays or very special occasions in Winter.

I say this because it requires making the mincemeat (and ample time in a jar to really develop into a true tipsy jelly), making puff pastry at least a day ahead of time and then assembling the dessert and baking it to a buttery, divinely flakey pastry full of delicious sweet meats redolent of baking days of yore.

MINCEMEAT

Mincemeat was usually made with drippings, suet and tongue which was simmered for hours and hours until the meat almost disappeared. To that was added fruits, berries and alcohol (as a preservative). Don't forget, this was something that predated refrigeration by centuries so the use of alcohol - and salt, but not in this instance - was a prevalent additive to deter spoiling or rot.

4 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into large chunks

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup currants

1/2 cup chopped candied cherries

1/4 cup candied citron

Grated peel from 1 orange

Grated peel from 1 Lemon

Juice from one Leman

Juice from one Orange

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Rum

Calvados (or Brandy)

1 cup chopped pecans

Put the apples in a food processor and pulse a few times until the apples are reduced to berry-sized shapes. Don't process too much.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a heavy cast iron pan (a Le Creuset Dutch oven is perfect for this) and add the apples. Sauté the apples for about 10 minutes and add the orange and lemon peel, the citrus juices, and 1/4 cup Rum. Let it boil and reduce. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, and all other dry ingredients except the pecans. Stir until the mixture comes to the boil. Add 1/4 cup Calvados and bring to a boil again, turn down the heat and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and add more liquor if mincemeat dries out or begins to stick to the bottom of the pan. I mix 1/4 cup of the rum with 1/4 cup Calvados and use this mixture to moisten the mincemeat when needed.

After the mincemeat has cooked and reduced into a thick mass, add the pecans and place contents into sterilized jars leaving an inch of space at the top. Cover mixture with any leftover liquor, seal and let cool in a dark place in a cupboard or the refrigerator. This should keep for several months.

PUFF PASTRY

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup "00" flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1 tsp. salt

1 lb. unsalted butter

1/2 cup cold water

I've made this puff pastry several times now and it works every single time. 

Please the flours and the salt in a food processor and pulse for 3 seconds. Take one stick of butter and cut it into small dice. Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until the flour takes on the texture of meal and the butter has turned into little pellets. Add the water in a stream and process for 8-10 seconds or until the doug takes on a mass and clears itself from the wall of the canister. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead into a ball. Dough will be very stick at first so dust your hands with flour. 

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, cut the rest of the butter into patties and place in a large stainless steel bowl. Using your fist, punch the butter down and rake it with your fingers (like a claw) until the butter takes the shape of the bowl in a nice flat dome. Refrigerate. 

When you're ready to start rolling out the pastry, Roll our the dough into a large circle measuring at least 16 inches in diameter. Place the butter sheet on top of the pastry dough and fold the outside edges of the dough over the butter, completely encasing the butter. Roll out the dough and fold it into thirds. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. When you're ready, roll out the dough into a 12x18 inch rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds and turn the dough 45º to the right. Roll out the dough, always starting from the center and rolling out and turning the dough so your rolling away from you. When you have another large rectangle, fold it into thirds again and refrigerate again for 30 minutes. Do this two more times exactly as before. Refrigerate. 

This can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for months. When you're ready to make the jalousie, removed the pastry from the fridge and cut the dough into two pieces. You can freeze one of the halves and save it for future use, Roll out the other piece of dough into a 12x16 inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise. Place one of the sheets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper moistened with drops of water. Place the mincemeat down the center leaving a good inch margin on all sides. Brush the sides with an egg wash made with 1 beaten egg and 1 tsp water. Take the other sheet of pastry and fold it in half. Take a pastry scraper and make slits on the folded side about a in ch and a half long. Take the long pastry sheet and place on top of the mincemeat and unfold. You should have a covered piece of dough with openings on top.that resemble Venetian blinds. Crimp the edges along all four sides of the Jalousie and bake in a preheated 425ª oven for 30 minutes, turn down the heat to 300º and bake for another 20 minutes, until flaky and golden brown. Et voila! The aromas coming out of the oven will make your kitchen, if not the entire house, smell like a veritable French pastry shop. Ice Cream Optional!

Bon appetit!