The Cornish Pasty

Name: The Cornish Pasty
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Makes 4 large pasties
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: Pastry: 500g strong bread flour, 120g cold butter, 120g lard, 1 tsp salt, 175ml cold water; Filling: 450g beef skirt, finely chopped; 1 large potato, small dice; 1 swede, small dice; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 tbsp butter per pasty; salt and lots of black pepper; 1 egg, beaten

Protected by European law and Cornish pride: beef skirt, potato, swede and onion crimped in a sturdy shortcrust — a complete meal for the tin miner’s hand.

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 90 min
Yield: Makes 4 large pasties
Difficulty: Moderate
Era: Medieval / PGI protected

Ingredients

Pastry: 500g strong bread flour, 120g cold butter, 120g lard, 1 tsp salt, 175ml cold water
Filling: 450g beef skirt, finely chopped
1 large potato, small dice
1 swede, small dice
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter per pasty; salt and lots of black pepper
1 egg, beaten

Method

Oven180°C350°FFan 160°CGas 4

Rub the fats into the flour and salt, bring together with cold water and knead until smooth. Rest 30 minutes.
Mix the raw beef, potato, swede and onion with aggressive seasoning — everything goes in raw.
Roll the pastry into 4 discs about 22cm across. Pile the filling on one half, dot with butter.
Fold over and crimp along the edge with a rope twist — the miner’s handle.
Glaze with egg, cut a small steam hole and bake at 180°C / 350°F (fan 160°C, gas 4) for 45–50 minutes until deep golden.
Rest 10 minutes. Eat warm, out of the hand, ideally within sight of the sea.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.