Transcript Cornish Pasty and Vegetable Pasty - Food Forum

Cornish Pasty &
Vegetable Pasty
The first stage: Make a quantity of shortcrust pastry with
225g plain flour, 115g fat (mixture of white fat and margarine)
pinch of salt, 4 x 15ml spoons cold water.
1. Put the fat, flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Cut the fat
into small pieces.
2. Rub the fat into the flour using your fingertips until the
mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add approximately 4 x 15ml spoons of cold water.
4. Stir with a round ended knife until the mixture sticks
together. Add more cold water if necessary, but don’t make
the mixture too sticky.
5. Press the mixture together with one hand. At this stage if
you have time, it is a good idea to let the pastry ‘rest’ before
you roll it out. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge.
Ingredients for Cornish Pasty: 1 x 225g quantity of
shortcrust pastry, 225g cubes steak, 2 or 3 potatoes, 1 onion,
piece of swede, salt and pepper.
1. Peel the swede. You can use turnip instead, but
traditionally the Cornish use swede.
2. Cut the swede onto slices and then small cubes.
3. Peel an onion. Make a bridge with your hand and cut the
onion in half. Put the flat sides down on the board.
4. Hold the onion firmly with your hand like a claw. Slice
across without cutting through the root.
5. Turn the onion round and still holding it like a claw, slice in
the other direction.
6. Wash and peel the potatoes.
7. Cut into slices, then strips and cubes.
8. The prepared vegetables should look like this.
9. Put the vegetables in a bowl with the cubed steak and
season well with salt and pepper. Mix well.
10. Take the pastry from the fridge. Flour the table and
rolling pin.
11. Roll out the pastry using a backwards and forwards
movement. Don’t roll over the edge of the pastry.
12. Turn the pastry round (not over) frequently so that it
doesn’t stick to the table. Use the rolling pin to support the
pastry when you do this.
13. When the pastry is rolled into a large square, cut out 4
circles. You can use a pan lid for this, approximately 20cm in
diameter.
14. Add 2 or 3 x 15ml spoons of the filling, keeping it to one
side of the pasty.
15. Brush around the edge with water.
16. Fold over the pasty and press the edges gently together.
17. Crimp the edge to make a good seal.
18. Brush the top with beaten egg.
19. Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 6/200°C for about 25
- 30 minutes until golden brown, then reduce the temperature
to gas mark 4/180°C for a further 15 minutes to make sure
the meat is cooked through.
20. The completed pasties.
How does it look?
Vegetable variations
Vegetables
Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Carrots
Parsnips
Peas
Potato
Sweetcorn
Leeks
Pepper
Apple
Tomato
Swede
Turnip
Rice
Cheese
Cheddar
Cheshire
Somerset blue
Brie
Feta
Wenslydale
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Stilton
Soft cheese
Flavourings
Soya sauce
Cumin
Coriander
Parsley
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Sage
Mixed herbs
Mint
Pesto
Branston pickle
Salt
Ground black pepper
Curry paste
Mustard
Tomato puree
Cheese sauce
To make Leek and Cheddar cheese pasties:
1. Cut the root end and dark green leaves from a leek.
2. Slice the leek and separate into rings. Grate 150g Cheddar
cheese.
3. Add some of the cheese and leek to a circle of pastry. You
can add other flavourings too – here I’ve used some pesto.
Brush the edge with water.
4. An alternative flavour is mustard. It goes particularly well
with cheese.
5. Fold over the pasty and gently press the edges together.
6. Crimp the edges to make a good seal.
7. Brush the tops with beaten egg.
8. Bake in a pre-heated oven on gas mark 6/200°C for about
30 minutes until golden brown.
What pasty variations can you develop?