Traditional Cornish Pasty Recipe
A traditional Cornish Pasty is what Americans know as a hand pie, filled with very simple ingredients, it is hard to believe just how much flavour these beef pies have!
Servings 4 Pasties
Calories 838kcal
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 400 g Plain Flour 3 Cups
- 100 g Butter ⅓ Cup
- 100 g Beef Dripping ⅓ Cup
- 6-7 tablespoon Water
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 1 Egg (for glazing the pastry)
For the Filling:
- 250 g Beef Skirt or Flank 9oz
- 1 Small Onion 75g
- 1 Small Waxy Potato 125g
- 125 g Swede 1 Cup
- 1½ teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt
- ¾-1 teaspoon Coarsely Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Weigh the flour into the bowl of a food processor and place it in the fridge.
- Grate the beef dripping and butter, 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.
- Move the pastry to a work surface and form 4 hockey puck-shaped rounds (this will make it easier to roll them later), then wrap in cling film and let the pastry sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can leave it for longer if you wish.
- Cut the beef into 2cm (¾) long strips around 5-6mm (¼") in profile and place into a mixing bowl.
- Top and tail the onion, then cut it in half and peel it. Cut the onion halves into 5-6mm (¼") thick strips from top to bottom and add them to the beef.
- Peel the potatoes and then cut the potato into "chips" around 20mmx3-4mmx10mm (¾"x⅛"½") and add them to the pasty filling.
- Peel and cut the swede into "chips" the same size as the potato, and throw it in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the salt and pepper, give everything a good mix and set aside.
- Roll out the pastry so that it is 3-4mm (around ⅛") thick and cut each into 4 x 225mm (9") circles.
- Add a quarter of the pasty filling to one half of the pastry disc, forming a "rugby ball" shape, leaving around 2.5cm or 1" of pastry at the edge.
- Brush the edge facing you with a little water, fold over the pastry, and push down to seal the edges. Then crimp by pinching between your thumb and forefinger, pull and twist, then move on to the next crimp.
- Beat the egg and then brush this over the pasties, then give them a sprinkle with coarse sea salt (this is not traditional, but I love it).
- Bake in the oven at 200°C or 390°F for 45 minutes.
It is important that you do not overwork the dough.
There is a visual guide for doing this further up the page.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 838kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1108mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g
