On the fourth day of Christmas…Mince Pies

Some people may say I’m late to the mince pie party. To those people I say; pah. Over the twelve days of Christmas, to ensure good luck through the twelve months of the coming year,  you should eat twelve mince pies at twelve different houses. So on this, the fourth (or fifth) day of Christmas,  the need for mince pies is greater than ever.

Bramble tart

I don’t appreciate paying for blackberries. At this time of year, when they’re to be had in parks and by railway lines for only the price of a few scratches, paying £3 for a couple of boxes seems perverse. And the berries you get are always oddly large and eerily identical. I am easily swayed though and one look at the recipe for this gloriously purple tart (from Olive magazine again) was enough to make me forget my principles and send me straight to Sainsburys.