A GOOD PASTY RECIPE
There have been many highly original versions of the straightforward miner's lunch (if you couldn't come up to the surface for lunch, you took a warm pasty down with you, holding the thickly crimped edge with your grubby hands, then leaving it behind to appease the spirits of the mine) but I have rarely enjoyed one as much as those I have eaten in Cornwall. My pasty is (categorically) not a Cornish pasty. I precook my filling, you see, which Cornish cooks would never do. I cook the meat and vegetables before wrapping them in the pastry crust purely because it results in a pasty whose filling is especially tender and giving. I also use a proportion of butter in the pastry too. The similarity between my pasty and a Cornish one is purely in the ingredients: beef, potato, onion, and rutabaga. Chaucer was partial to a pasty-they appear in The Canterbury Tales, and in several of Shakespeare's plays, including The Merry Wives of Windsor, All's Well That Ends Well, and Titus Andronicus. We shall gloss over the small point that Titus uses Chiron and Demetrius's bodies rather than the more traditional beef skirt steak. I do suggest you let the finished parcels rest for half an hour before baking, if you get the chance.
Yield makes 6
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Freeze the lard and butter in one chunk each (wrapped in their paper) for a good hour, making them easier to grate.
- Peel the rutabaga and potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch (2cm) pieces, and bring to a boil in deep, lightly salted water. Simmer for ten to 15 minutes, until almost tender, then drain. Peel and coarsely chop the onions, then let them soften in the butter in a shallow pan.
- Grate the frozen lard and butter into the flour. This is most easily done if you keep the fats in their paper, dipping the cut edge into the flour every now and again to stop it sticking on the grater. Add a good half teaspoon of salt. Stir the fat into the flour along with enough cold water to make a firm but tender dough. I find about 5 or 6 tablespoons usually does it. Roll the dough into a ball and leave to rest in the fridge, wrapped in wax paper, for 20 minutes or so.
- Meanwhile, cut the beef into small pieces, then, once the onions are soft, remove and add the beef to the hot pan. Let it color nicely on all sides, then remove and mix with the onions. Add a splash of water-or stock, if there is some around-to the pan, scrape at any stickings with a spatula, then pour this liquid over the meat. Add the drained rutabaga and potato. Season generously (my feeling is that the mixture should be really quite peppery). Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Divide the pastry into 6 equal pieces. Roll each lump into a disk about 7 1/2 inches (18cm) in diameter, using a small plate as a template. Brush the edges with beaten egg and milk, then put a pile of the filling on each disk. Fold the dough over to make a semicircle, pressing hard to seal the edges. Crimp as you wish (a fork, a twist of the finger and thumb, a nice bit of braiding, as you fancy), then transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush all over with beaten egg and milk. Cut a couple of steam holes in the top of each pasty to prevent them splitting. Bake for 15 minutes, then decrease the heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 45 minutes or so, until golden.
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