Cornish Food Market

Brenda Wooton's Cornish Pasties

Method

With thanks to Sue Ellery and Murray King for supplying this recipe from Brenda Wootton

Makes two generous pasties.

1. Preheat oven to 400F / 200C / 180C fan oven / gas mark 6.
2. Make the pastry by rubbing the fat into the flour, then add cold water slowly until pastry is soft and stretchy.
3. Finely dice all the vegetables and cut meat into 1cm / ¼" cubes. Divide the meat and vegetables into two portions, one for each pasty.
4. Roll out the pastry and use a dinner plate to cut two circles. Place one circle half over a rolling pin.
5. Leaving a 2cm / ½" margin at the edge, flake the vegetables onto the pastry, starting with the swede, then two thirds of the potato, then the meat, then the seasoning. Finally add the onion and the remaining potato.
6. Moisten the pastry edge with milk and fold the other half over the filling, pressing to close. Trim off the small triangle of excess pastry at the corners. Crimp (tuck) the edges with your thumb and forefinger and make a small knife-hole at the top. Brush pasty with milk or beaten egg.
7. Repeat for second pasty.
8. Put pasties on greaseproof paper on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375F / 190C / 170C fan oven / gas mark five and bake for a further 50 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving. Delicious!

Ingredients

For the pastry:
275g / 10 oz plain or self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
110g / 4 oz fat (½ lard, ½ margarine)
Cup of cold water

For the filling:
1 large (old) potato
1 small swede
1 medium onion
225g / 8 oz skirt beef (or chuck steak)
Salt and pepper