Cornish Pasty
Miner's lunch, farmer's pocket-warmer, national treasure. The genuine Cornish pasty is a D-shaped case of shortcrust, filled raw with beef skirt, potato, swede and onion, and crimped along one side like a scallop's edge.
Ingredients
500 g strong white flour
125 g salted butter, cold, cubed
125 g beef suet or lard
150 ml ice-cold water
400 g beef skirt, cut into small dice
250 g potato, peeled and diced small
200 g swede, peeled and diced small
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten, for glazing
Method
- 1
Rub the fats into the flour with a good pinch of salt until it resembles breadcrumbs, then bring together with the cold water into a firm dough. Rest, wrapped, in the fridge for at least an hour.
- 2
Toss the beef, potato, swede and onion together with plenty of salt and pepper. The filling goes in raw — that is how a proper pasty works.
- 3
Divide the pastry into four and roll each piece into a rough dinner-plate disc. Pile a quarter of the filling onto one half of each, leaving a border for crimping.
- 4
Brush the edge with beaten egg, fold over into a half-moon and crimp firmly along the seam, working in overlapping folds to seal.
- 5
Glaze all over with beaten egg and cut a small steam hole in the top. Bake at 210°C for 20 minutes, then reduce to 170°C for a further 35 minutes until deeply golden.
Cook's notes
The crimp must always run along the side, never the top — this keeps the juices from leaking as the pasty bakes. Practise on a scrap of pastry before you commit.