Cornish Pasties
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It’s Pastry Week!
Anyone who knows me is aware of my love for The Great British Bake-Off. It provides a lot of inspiration for me to learn new recipes and techniques, but more often than not, just an appreciation for the artistry and creativity that each baker brings to the tent. The week that fascinates me the most is usually Pastry Week. There are so many intricacies in pastry, which always makes it seem like one of the most difficult. And the butter. So. Much. Butter. And Lard. And whatever other kind of fat you can make pastry with. The ingredients alone can make your head spin.
In honor of GBBO and its many pastries, our next Food & History recipe is for Cornish Pasties.
But what exactly are Cornish Pasties, you ask? To put it simply, they are a type of savory hand-pie, but so much more!
Some of the first references of the pasty appeared during the 14th century, with the Oxford English Dictionary suggesting it was identified around 1300. It’s been mentioned in cookbooks across centuries, the earliest in 1393. While they became fairly commonplace in the 16th and 17th centuries, it became a staple in Cornwall around the 18th century as a food eaten by working class families. Filling pastry dough with vegetables like onions, potatoes, and swede (rutabaga) was an inexpensive way to feed the whole family.
However, it was the arrival of mining that really put pasties on the map. Cornwall, which is a county on England’s southwestern tip, had a boom of tin mining, and later copper and other metals in the 19th century. What better way to feed miners than something that is easy to hold and transport and also keeps its shape?! It wasn’t always possible to come to the surface for lunch, so pasties were taken down into the mines with the miners. I’ve read in a few places that the crust is shaped like a D in order to be a handle, which was then discarded to prevent cross-contamination with the possibly arsenic-ridden hands of the miners. One cool thing about Cornish pasties is that you can make them double-sided. Sometimes the wives of the miners would have one side filled with beef, veggies, etc, but the other, or at least a small section, be filled with fruit as a sweet ending to their mid-day meal. How that’s done, I’m not sure, but the idea is fascinating to me. They would also carve initials into one side of the pasty so miners could identify which one was theirs, but it also helps to vent the steam while they cook.
Making this recipe is fairly simple, and if you have made your own pie crust before, you’re well on your way. One thing I tried this time is freezing my butter beforehand. This allowed me to grate it into the flour rather than cutting it up, and seemed to be an easier way to get a more even butter distribution. I also had to add more than 3-5 tablespoons of water to get my dough to come together, so don’t be afraid to add more!
While I’m sure Cornish miners didn’t bring a gravy boat down into the mines with them to accompany their pasties, I ended up making a vegetarian gravy at the last minute to pair with mine. It turned out to be a delicious addition, and definitely a gravy recipe I’ll keep in my back pocket for another time.
I’m so happy to finally have a reason to make these, and I hope you enjoyed this dip across the pond!
-S
Sources: https://cornishpastyassociation.co.uk/about-the-pasty/history/
Ingredients:
For the crust
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup lard, 8 tbs of unsalted butter OR 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
1 large egg, beaten,
3-5 tbs of water*
2 tsps cider or white vinegar
The filling:
3/4 cubed or diced lean beef - This is traditionally an ingredient in Cornish Pasties, but since my husband and I are largely vegetarian, we left this out.
1/2 cup rutabaga (purple turnip), diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup peeled and diced baking potatoes
1/2 cup carrot, peeled and diced
1 tbs minced fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
The egg wash:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tbs water
Optional Vegetarian gravy:
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 onion finely chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable stock or broth
Method:
In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt. Cut the fat into small pieces and distribute evenly over the flour** Cut the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, beat the egg with the water and vinegar. Drizzle this over the flour while tossing everything together with a fork.
Gather the dough together with a dough scraper, folding it over on itself until it becomes cohesive. Sprinkle any dry or crumbly bits with water* a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. Divide into six pieces and shape into discs. Wrap and chill while you prepare the filling.
Chop/dice filling ingredients and stir all of them together in a large bowl (uncooked)
Preheat your oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the wrapped pastry from the fridge and roll each piece to an 8” circle (ish) Place 1/2 cup of filling in the center of each circle. Brush the edges of the circle with water and bring the top edge up and over the filling, pressing it into the bottom edge.
Push down on the edge of the pasty, and using your index finger and thumb, twist the edge over to form a crimp, and repeat process along the edge of the rest of the pasty.
Cut a design or initials into one side to vent the steam.
Place on prepared baking sheet and brush with egg wash.
Bake at 400° for the first 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350° for a further 25-30 minutes.
If using gravy: Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until soft. Pour in 2 cups of vegetable stock or broth, and add flour and herbs. Whisk together and bring to a simmer. Cook 5-10 minutes until flavors as blended and mixture has thickened slightly. Season with additional salt & pepper as needed.
Remove pasties from the oven when done and serve warm.
*Notes: You may need more than 3-5 tablespoons of water to make your dough come together. If so, add more a tablespoon at a time.
**If you’re using butter, you could also freeze it and then grate it into the flour mixture.
