Proper Cornish Pasties
Ingredients
- for the pastry
- 600g plain flour
- 150g cold butter cut up
- 150g cold lard cut up
- 1 tsp salt
- cup of cold water
- filling
- 400-500g finely skirt steak (sliced against the grain)
- 1 large onion finely sliced
- 275g swede finely sliced
- 275g potato finely sliced
- plenty of salt and pepper
- knob of butter(optional)
Preparation
Make the pastry:
Put the flour, butter, lard and salt in a mixing bowl and lightly rub in the fat until there aren’t any large lumps
Make a well and pour in half the water, use a butter knife to start combining the mixture
Add the rest of the water and mix in, it should be wet enough to combine but if not just add a little more water, just enough to bring it together
Rest the pastry in the fridge for 30 mins (use this time to prep the veg)
Assembly
Divide pastry into three or four
Flour the kitchen top and rolling pin
Roll out a piece of the pastry big enough to cut round a medium or large dinner plate
Place the pastry over the rolling pin, so the front half is flat on the kitchen top and the back is resting on the rolling pin
The half in front of you is for the filling
Use a knife to make a light indentation 1 inch around the edge, that’s the filling border
Place a thin layer of steak, then onion, swede and potato and season with salt and pepper
Repeat until you reach the top of the rolling pin, two layers usually does it, season again
Add a knob of butter to the top of the filling (optional)
Pat a little cold water on the pastry edge, then fold the top over, press the edges together
To crimp, start at the edge furthest from you
Place your thumb on the top of the pastry and your index finger underneath, with a firm movement twist the pastry up and back and press down, repeat until complete
Repeat per pasty
Place pasties on a floured baking tray, make a little hole and brush with beaten egg
Bake
Bake at 240 degrees for 20 mins, then down to 200 for 30 mins for large ( 20 mins then 25 mins for medium) rest for 5 mins
