Cheese and Onion Pasty Recipe with Branston Pickle
Pasties are a true British institution; my cheese and onion pasty recipe gets an addition of Branston pickle and a wonderful homemade pastry that can be replaced with store-bought if you wish.
Servings 4 Pasties
Calories 655kcal
Ingredients
For the Pastry:
- 300 g Plain Flour 2⅓ Cups
- 75 g Butter ¼ Cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 75 g Vegetable Fat (Shortening in the US) ¼ Cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 1-2 tablespoon Water
- 1 Pinch of Salt
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 2 tablespoon Milk
For the filling:
- 1 Large Onion 200g
- 150 g Mature Cheddar Cheese 1½ Cups
- 100 g Potato ⅔ Cup (I like to use a waxy potato)
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon White Pepper
- 50-60 g Small Chunk Branston Pickle ~¼ Cup
Instructions
- Weigh the flour into the bowl of a food processor and place it in the fridge.
- Cut the vegetable fat and butter into a 1cm (½") dice and place them in a bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetable fat and butter to the flour, add the pinch of salt and then pulse to create a breadcrumb-like texture.
- Add the water little by little until a ball forms in the food processor, it is important that you do not overwork the dough.
- Move to a work surface and form 4 hockey puck-shaped rounds, each will weigh around 115g or 4oz. Wrap them individually in cling film and place them in the fridge for between 30 minutes and 1 hour.
- Cut the onion in half, peel it and then cut it into half-moon shapes as thinly as possible, then place them into a bowl.
- Grate the cheese and add it to the bowl with the onion.
- Give the potato a scrub (don't bother peeling it), then grate it and squeeze out any excess moisture before adding it to the cheese and onion mix.
- Add the white pepper and thyme to the mix and have a taste (avoiding the potato); it should not need salt, but by all means, add some if you think it does.
- Roll out the pastry so that it is 2-3mm (just over ⅛") thick and cut each into 4 x 200mm (8") circles.
- Add a quarter of the cheese and onion mix to one half of the pastry disc, forming a "rugby ball" shape, leaving around 1½ cm or 1" of pastry at the edge.
- Add a quarter of the Branston pickle in a strip over the top of the cheese filling.
- Fold over the pastry (the pickle will fall towards the crimp), sealing the edges with a little water. Then crimp by pinching between your thumb and forefinger, pull and twist, then move on to the next crimp. There is a visual guide for doing this further up the page.
- Beat the egg yolk and milk together and then brush this over the pasties.
- Bake in the oven at 180°C or 350°F for 45 minutes.
Notes
You could use a 450-500g packet of ready-made shortcrust pastry; see the Frequently Asked Questions section for details.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 781mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 19g
