Cornish Pasty

©GeraldineBanksAug2024

What is my favourite recipe?

My favourite recipe by far for a Cornish Pasty. I love them and they are so easy to make from scratch.

They have a great history too, and were used to pay casual workers in past times, for example for working on the ground work in Trenance Gardens in Newquay, the workers were paid a pasty a day for what was incredibly hard labour.( Well it was all in a good cause.) All for the benefit of the great and good of Newquay. Who after completion of the project would be able to promenade through the park in their Sunday Best.

Miners, traditionally, would have a pasty that contained meat and veg one end and a sweet filling the other end for their lunch. Some would throw away the pastry as it was covered in coal dust and they had nowhere to wash their hands down the mine while having their meal.

So a Cornish Pasty has a long history of providing nutrition for people. The first pasty I made was at School and I made a giant one, much to the teacher’s puzzlement. I suppose I miscalculated something and I had one large pasty and one small pasty. Everyone else had the required 6 medium pasties. Whatever, when I brought it home , everyone loved it .

Basically , I think you should make the pastry from scratch( a lost art) and prepare the filling which consists of beef ( not an expensive cut), finely cut potatoes and diced swede or turnip( whichever is available).

Roll the pastry out and make equal size rounds and put a layer of potato, then a layer of swede/turnip and then some beef. Place a small nob of butter on top so as to add flavour and moisture while the pasty is cooking and season each pile with loads of pepper and a little salt. Don’t overfill as you will have to will have to seal the pasty and crimp the edges as best you can. There are encyclopaedias on how to do this correctly.

Once you’re pasties are sitting neatly on the baking tray ready to go in the oven, then brush them all over with beaten egg, to give them a nice rustic brown pastry colour and cook at Gas Mark 6 for around 50 minutes.

Eat when ready, I personally think it’s best to eat them and make a fresh batch each time. And remember it’s nice to share.

Warning: This is not an official recipe and I’m doing it from memory, if I were you and you really want to make a Cornish Pasty do check out the recipes from real cooks and chefs.

Namaste