Cornish Pasties
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Have you ever heard of Cornish Pasties before? I have, but I have never tried a real one before. My friend Jan makes pasties, but they are very, very different than the “official” Cornish Pasties served all over Britain! When I started looking for Scottish foods that would be perfect for a picnic, pasties popped into my head immediately. They are several stories about the origins of pasties that date back to the 14th century…..
As one story goes, they were made for the miners in Cornwall to take to work each day. They are easy to hold, are good served warm or cold, and hold up well while being transported. Other stories claim that they were eaten by the poorer working families who could only afford cheap ingredients. Either way, they are delicious!
In 2011 Cornish Pasties were given PDO status in Europe. The official recipe states that they must be filled with beef, sliced or diced potato, swede {also known as a yellow turnip or rutabaga}, onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, and baked. So my recipe will not pass the test in Europe because of the herbs and Worcestershire sauce, but I am in the US so I am not all that worried about it, lol.
How to make Cornish Pasties:
Start by making the shortcrust pastry in a large bowl or a food processor…..
Pulse in the food processor, or use a pastry cutter until mixture forms small crumbles. Gradually add ice water to form a ball…..
My dough was actually too dry, I am always so paranoid about making it too wet, so you really want it to hold together and form a ball. It makes it much easier to roll out. 😉
Place dough on a well floured work surface and lightly knead to form a smooth, firm dough…..
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Place the beef, onion, potato, turnip, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl and stir to thoroughly combine…..
Notice the size of my chopped turnip {the yellow chunks}, they are too big! You want the potato, turnip and beef to be the same size so they cook more evenly than mine did. 😉
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner and set aside. Cut dough into 6 pieces and roll each out on a floured surface into 8″ inch circles……
Divide the filling, and place in the center of each dough circle. Brush the edges with beaten egg…..
Place a piece of butter in the center of each pasty and fold side over. Crimp edges to seal and place on prepared baking sheet…..
If your dough is too dry, it will crack like mine did…but it still works!! Cut slits in the top of each pasty and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife…..
Did I forget to mention this month’s celebrity date?
Yummy!! I can’t read that little circle in the corner, but I think this is an ad for Hugo Boss Woman.
During my research I also found two different ways of making these pasties. Mine, like the official Cornish version, are folded over and crimped on the side in a “D” shape. The Devon pasties are crimped on along the top. My dough was on the dry side, so I decided not to attempt a top crimp. Maybe next time.
Reader Tip:
Billy says: “BTW if the reason you’re sealing the edges like that is you find that the short pastry is too crumbly to hand crimp here’s a tip for you – replace half for your flour with strong bread flour OR knead it very briefly (2 mins tops) to release some of the gluten. That will make it nice and pliable and you’ll be able to get a nice neat crimp without making the pastry tough!” Thanks Billy!!
This month’s Scorpio meal includes:
Rusty Nail Cocktail – Split Pea Soup – Cornish Pasties – Lemon Curd Tarts
Last year’s Cooking with Astrology Scorpio meal included:
Moroccan Butternut Squash Soup – Chicken Tagine with Olives & Lemons
Moroccan Orange Cake – Avocado & Date Smoothie
Enjoy!!
Cornish Pasties
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 3 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Cup unsalted butter + 2 Tablespoons
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup ice water approximate
For the Filling
- 1 Pound skirt steak cut into very small pieces
- ¾ cups diced potato cut into 1/4
- ¾ cups diced swede / turnip cut into 1/4
- 1 Medium yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 Tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces
- sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
- 1 Large egg beaten (to glaze)
Instructions
For the Pastry:
- Place flour, butter, and salt in a large bowl OR in the bowl of a food processor.
- Using a pastry cutter {or pulse mode} combine to form small crumbles.
- Gradually add the ice water to form a ball. Be careful to not overwork the dough.
- Place dough on a floured work surface, and lightly knead to form a firm, smooth dough. Again, do not overwork the dough.
- Wrap on plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
For the Filling:
- Place the beef, onion, potato, turnip, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix to thoroughly combine, and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner and set aside.
- Divide dough into 6 pieces, and roll each out into an 8-inch circle on a well floured surface.
- Divide filling and place in the center of the dough circles, and top with piece of butter.
- Brush edges of dough with beaten egg and fold over. Crimp edges to seal.
- Cut slits in the top of each pasty and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Brush with beaten egg and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife.
- Serve warm or cold with a green salad.
These look delicious! Such a great idea!
Not only does your food always look good, but you make me laugh out loud — too funny staring at the Hugo man:) My daughter came back talking about pasties after spending a semester in England. No wonder they taste good — that’s a lot of butter. Who doesn’t love butter, beef and salt? Great recipe for a cold day.
These look nice! There are plenty of traditionalists here in Cornwall who would probably get grumpy about these being called “Cornish Pasties” when they aren’t hand crimped and contain Italian parsley and Worcestershire sauce, but personally I believe proper pasties should be made to personal taste anyway!
BTW if the reason you’re sealing the edges like that is you find that the short pastry is too crumbly to hand crimp here’s a tip for you – replace half for your flour with strong bread flour OR knead it very briefly (2 mins tops) to release some of the gluten. That will make it nice and pliable and you’ll be able to get a nice neat crimp without making the pastry tough!