Making Pasties the Cornish Way

I had promised at least a modicum of reportage while on my most excellent adventure with my granddaughter to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando -- and then I broke my promise. I learned on Day One that finding the time to write in the midst of a fantasy-driven week designed for ten-year-olds was not going to happen.

The program we had joined was not for the faint of heart. Every day started early with either a tour of the theme park or a Harry Potter-related group activity like a making wands, studying owls (real ones), making butter beer or playing Quidditch in the pool. After a mid-afternoon swimming break to cool off, it was back to the park for more. By 10 P.M., both grandmother and granddaughter were exhausted.

The heat in Florida that week was excruciating, made worse by stifling humidity. But nothing slowed down those kids. The adults passed around a cold Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad (the best invention ever!) and took turns waiting in long lines with the kids for rides that were stunningly creative, but only lasted a few minutes.

My personal favorite moment was when we stepped into The Three Broomsticks restaurant for lunch and we were greeted with a blast of air conditioning that sent welcome shivers all over me. The Three Broomsticks, as every Harry Potter fan knows, serves authentic Hogsmeade food and drink. With glee, I ordered Cornish pasties and a frozen butter beer. It was the perfect repast. I devoured every bite.

When I was in England last year doing family history research in Cornwall, I ate as many pasties as I could. This traditional meat turnover has been eaten and enjoyed by the Cornish for millennia and still today you can find pasties on every street corner, in every flavor. But an authentic pasty (please, say "past-tee," and not "pace-tee") contains beef steak, potato, onion and swede (or turnip) wrapped in an envelope of pastry. A thick, rope-shaped seam seals up the two halves of pastry and served as a convenient handle for miners who ate pasties for lunch, many dark fathoms underground. After the collapse of the British mining industry, when Cornish miners immigrated to more promising mining sites all over the world, the pasty went with them to Canada, America, Australia, South Africa and Mexico (where they were called empanadas).

While in Cornwall, I bought several books that claim to have the original recipe and the proper technique for making a Cornish pasty. After a few experiments at home, here is the recipe I prefer:

Cornish Pasties

Make The Pastry:

2-1/4 Cups flour

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 Cup cold shortening

1/2 Cup (or one stick) cold butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2-1/4 Teaspoons cider vinegar

4-6 Tablespoons ice water, more if needed

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and pulse until the dough resembles moist sand. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Sprinkle on the vinegar and 4 tablespoons of ice water and pulse a few times until the dough begins to clump together into a cohesive ball.  If the dough is too crumbly, add more water one tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough and form into a large disk about 6-8 inches wide, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

Make The Filling:

When ready to assemble the pasties, set the oven to 425 degree, then prepare the filling.

1 pound rump, chuck or skirt steak, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 large baking potato, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 large turnip, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large egg, beaten

Mix together the first 5 ingredients but do not cook them; the "proper" Cornish way is to use raw ingredients and let them bake in the oven along with the pastry. 

Divide the chilled dough into 12 equal pieces and shape each piece into a small disk. Roll out each disk on a lightly floured surface into a circle about 6 inches in diameter and 1/8-inch thick. Carefully set each circle aside until all 12 are ready.

Dampen the edge of each circle with a little water, but don't overdo it or the edges will slide around instead of sealing together. Add 1/4 cup of the filling onto one side of each pastry disk, carefully fold over the other side of the dough and crimp the edges together to form a half-circle. Make a small slit in the top of the pasty with a knife to let steam escape, brush each pasty with a milk or egg wash and place them on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving a couple of inches between them. 

Bake one sheet at a time, keeping the second sheet chilling in the refrigerator. Bake each batch until the pasties are puffed up and golden brown, about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet about half way through for even browning. Remove from the oven and lift each pasty with a spatula onto a serving plate. Pasties keep very hot for a long time, so wait at least 15 minutes before eating.