No Christmas is complete without some tasty homemade mincemeat. Forget the shop bought jars – these are ladened with sugar and suet.  Making your own is simple and tastes absolutely divine.  This mincemeat is full of fresh and dried fruits, nuts and spices.  Sweetened only with rich agave nectar and the natural sugars of the fruits this is a great healthy alternative.  Use it as a filling for mince pies, muffins, cakes and tarts.  Mincemeat combines well with apples and pears – try stirring a little into fruit mixtures for crumbles and bakes or add a spoonful into Greek yogurt for a quick tasty pudding.  As it does not contain suet it is best stored in the fridge (for up to a week) or you can freeze it in batches.

225g (8oz) sultanas

225g (8oz) raisins

60g (2oz) dried cranberries

225g (8oz) dried apricots

110g (4oz) dried figs

110g (4oz) dried dates, pitted

110g (4oz) chopped almonds

3 dessert apples, washed, cored and chopped

2 pears, washed, cored and chopped

3 lemons, juice and zest

2tsp (10ml) mixed spice

1tbsp (15ml) ground cinnamon

1tsp (5ml) ground cloves

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

75ml (5tbsp) rum or brandy, optional

100ml (4floz) Groovy Food Rich Agave Nectar

Wash the dried fruit. Chop the apricots, figs and dates into small pieces with scissors.  Place all the dried fruit in a large bowl and cover with apple juice or boiling water.  Leave to soak for an hour.  Drain well.  Mix the dried fruit with the spices, fresh fruit, lemon zest and juice and nuts and place in batches in a food processor.  Pulse gently to chop the mixture but do not over-process.  Warm the agave nectar slightly with the rum if using and add to the mixture.  Mix well.  Place in airtight containers or jars and refrigerate or freeze in batches