Green Tomato Mincemeat Fried Pies

Ingredients

• Servings: 24
• 2 pounds green tomatoes
• 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups cold water, divided
• 3 pounds tart apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds raisins
• 3 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 3 cups shortening for frying

Recipe

Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ready Time: 2 hrs 15 mins


• coarsely chop the tomatoes. place in a colander and, pressing with your hand, squeeze out as much tomato juice as you can. transfer tomatoes to a large saucepan with 1 cup of water. bring to a boil over medium-high heat; remove from heat and drain well.
• return tomatoes to saucepan with 1 cup of cold water, bring to a boil; drain again.
• place tomatoes back in the saucepan with remaining cup of water, apples, raisins, brown sugar, 3 1/2 teaspoons salt, vinegar, and 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening. cook slowly over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until tomatoes are transparent, about 30 minutes.
• in the last 5 minutes of cooking, add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, lemon rind and juice. remove mincemeat from heat and set aside to cool.
• for the pastry: in a large bowl, combine flour, 1 teaspoon salt ,and shortening. add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough barely holds together. wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• roll dough out to 1/8 inch thick on floured surface. cut a 5-inch circle, place a large spoonful of filling on one half of the circle. fold over and seal the edges by pressing them with a fork. repeat with remaining dough.
• in a large heavy skillet, heat shortening to 360 degrees f (182 degrees c). carefully place 4 pies in the hot shortening. fry until golden brown on both sides. drain on paper towels. repeat with remaining pies.