The definitive Cornish Pasty
When the Hairy Bikers did their Food Tour of Britain in 2007, they visited all the British counties and looked for the best food that came out of that county. No visit to Cornwall can be complete without tasting or making this Cornish classic – the pasty.
Feelings run high about pasties in Cornwall. People love them and don’t believe in tinkering with the traditional recipe. This is what we learned. Always use beef skirt, nothing fancy. Don’t blanch the veg — put them in raw. Don’t include carrots and don’t use herbs – just lots of black pepper.
People have probably been making the pasty since the 13th century but it was in the 18th century that they really became popular as a convenient meal for miners and farm workers to take with them to work. The size and shape makes the pasty easy to carry and the sturdy pastry makes a great edible lunchbox.
Pasty
450g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
125g unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
125ml cold water
Filling
450g potatoes, finely diced
150g swede, finely diced
150g onions, finely chopped
salt and black pepper
300g beef skirt, finely chopped
1 tbsp plain Hour
40g butter
1 egg, beaten
To make the pastry, place the flour, baking powder, salt, butter and egg yolks into a food processor and blitz until the mixture forms crumbs. Slowly add the water until a ball of pastry miraculously appears — you may not need all the water. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and leave it to chill in the fridge for an hour.
To prepare the filling for the pasty, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Roll out the pastry to the thickness you like, but be careful not to tear it. Using a dinner plate as a template, cut out 6 discs of pastry. Season the vegetables separately with salt and black pepper. Put the beef into a bowl and mix with the flour and some salt and pepper.
Place some potatoes, swede, onions and beef on one half of the circle, leaving a gap round the edge. Dot with butter. Brush around the perimeter of the pastry circle with the beaten egg, then fold the pastry over the vegetables and meat and seal firmly. Starting at one side, crimp the edges over to form a sealed D—shaped pasty. Brush the whole pasty with beaten egg, then make a steam hole in the centre with a sharp knife. Repeat to make the other pasties.
Put the pasties in the oven and cook for 50 minutes until they are crispy and golden and the filling is cooked through. Leave them to rest for 5-10 minutes before eating.
If you live in Spain, then the best original Cornish pasties can be found at Oggies Bar in Valles, near Xativa, Valencia. Baked by Michelle, a born and bred Cornish lass who bakes her pasties to the original Cornish recipe, people travel for miles to eat an enjoy this traditional Cornish speciality.
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