Yum, yum!!

I have to say that I NEVER eat bought pasties. I'm sure that they are delicious, but I am such a fuss when it comes to knowing exactly what I'm eating. My homemade ones are delicious though! Fiddly - and I haven't made any in a while - but my taste-buds are working overtime right now - and I figure it could be only a matter of time before that rolling pin gets a dusting again! :) The following two recipes include turnip (swede), but I never, ever put this into mine, as I cannot stand the taste which permeates everything. It is fine to leave it out - add an extra potato.

The Cornish Pasty was a convenient way to provide a "packed lunch". Workmen, and miners in particular, often took a pasty to work every day as it provided a complete and easily portable meal.

Pasties were made with a firm pastry in order that they could be eaten, wrapped in a paper bag, held in the hand. The filling usually was of meat and root vegetables though fruit, such as apple, was sometimes used. Some pasties were made with one end filled with meat and veg and the other end with fruit, thus providing both a main course and a sweet.

RECIPE (1)

(makes around 4 good-sized pasties)

Ingredients:

For the Pastry

8oz plain flour
3 1/2 oz lard or vegetable fat
good pinch of salt

For the Filling

1lb chuck steak or skirt of beef
2 or 3 large potatoes
onion
piece of turnip or swede
salt and pepper


Method:


Add the salt to the flour and rub in the fat. Mix to a pliable consistency with water and leave to rest in a cool place for 30 minutes.

Cut the meat into small pieces. Peel and finely slice the potatoes and turnip. Peel and chop the onion.

Take half the pastry and roll into a round the size of a medium plate.

Make a mound of half the meat and vegetable in the centre of the pastry. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Dampen round the edge of the pastry, fold over pinching the edges together to form a seal and crimp along the edge.

Put on a baking tray and brush the top with milk, slit a hole in the top to let the steam out. Make a second pasty in the same way.

Bake in a hot oven (200C, Gas Mark 6) for 30 minutes, reduce the heat (190C,Gas Mark 5) and bake for another 30 minutes. (Hint: if the pastry starts to burn, which it most probably will - cover with foil.)

(thanks to Pasty Central for this very instructive picture! They ship to North America too - but I ain't sure from where - probably they aren't Cornish ones!! Nope, I think they're from Missouri! Carrots in pasties?!?! NEVER! And Rutabaga??? What on earth IS that??? The general shape's right though! :))

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RECIPE (2)

(Serves 6)

(This one from Delia Smith. I often do this - a pasty pie, rather than individual ones. Such less work!! Again, you can leave out the turnip.)

For the Pastry

6oz lard (175 g)
12 oz plain flour (350g)
Water to mix
Salt and freshly-milled pepper

For the Filling

1 1/4 lb chuck steak (56 g)
1 medium to large turnip
1 medium to large potato
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon mixed herbs
1 tablespoon water
Salt and freshly-milled pepper

To glaze

Beaten egg

(I usually add some stock or a little Bisto to the water inside the pasty - nicer gravy)

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400F (200C)

A well-greased 10 inch (15.5cm) fluted metal quiche tin. (Or really, you can just make this on a plate, with only the pastry on the top!!)

Make the pastry first, adding a little salt and pepper to season it, then pop it into a plastic bag and leave it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the meat into very thin strips about 2 inches (5 cm) long (it's important to keep them very thin - in order that they cook in the time given). (I cut into tiny cubes)

Place the meat in a mixing bowl, with the chopped onion and mixed herbs (optional). Then peel the potato and turnip (or not!) and slice these as thinly as possible too (the slicing edge of a four-sided grater does this thin slicing job in moments). (Again, I cut into tiny cubes). Now add the turnip and potato to the meat, season with salt and pepper, and mix very thoroughly.

Next roll out half the pastry, large enough to line the tin with about 1/2 inch (1 cm) overlapping. Spoon the filling in, spreading it evenly all over, then sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of water (mix with a little stock or Bisto for added taste and colour).

Roll out the other half of the pastry, dampen the edge all round, then fit it over the top of the pie. Then seal the edges, folding them inwards and pressing gently to make a rim just inside the edge of the tin. Make a stream-hole in the centre (about the size of a 10p piece), brush the surface with beaten egg, and bake the pie on a baking sheet, on a high shelf, for 15 minutes. Then turn the heat down to gas mark 4, 350F (180C), and continue to cook on the centre shelf for a further 1 1/2 hours. This is still very good eaten cold, so it's a good idea for a picnic.

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