Recipes

Cornish Pasties

  • Serves

    makes 4

SAVEUR EDITORS

In the old days Cornish pasties were sometimes made with a savory filling at one end and a sweet one, such as strawberry jam and cream, at the other, so that they'd make a meal—dessert included—in themselves.

Ingredients

  • 2 12 cups flour, plus more as needed
  • 9 Tbsp. cold lard, cut into 1⁄2" pieces
  • 9 Tbsp. cold margarine, cut into 1⁄2" pieces
  • 1 cup peeled grated rutabaga (about 1⁄4 lb.)
  • 1 large russet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced crosswise
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 lb. chuck steak, cut into 1" pieces
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions

Step 1

Put flour, lard, margarine, and 1 cup water into large bowl and, using your hands, gently form mixture into a dough ball without mixing the fats into the flour. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out into an 8" × 10" rectangle. Fold over short edges of dough into thirds, overlapping them, as if you were folding a letter. Rotate dough clockwise until long edges are parallel to you, then roll again into an 8" × 10" rectangle. Repeat folding, rotating, and rolling process 8 more times, lightly flouring work surface as necessary. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 400°. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, shape into balls, and flatten each into a disk. Working with 1 disk at a time (rewrap and refrigerate remaining disks), roll out into a 9" round. Lay half of the round over the rolling pin. Place one-quarter of the rutabaga on flat half of dough and layer with one-quarter each of potatoes, onions, and beef; season generously with salt and pepper. Brush edge of dough with egg; fold dough over to form a half-moon shape. Pinch edges together to form a seam; pleat seam by folding and pinching dough over in small increments. Transfer pasty to an 8" × 12" piece of parchment paper. Repeat process to make 4 in all, placing them on indivdual pieces of parchment paper. Arrange the pasties on a baking sheet, pressing them against one another while pulling the edges of the paper up between them. Brush tops and sides of pasties with remaining egg.

Step 3

Bake pasties until light golden, about 15 minutes. Spread the pasties on the baking sheet, reduce heat to 350°, and continue to bake until deep golden, about 50 minutes more. Set pasties aside and let cool to room temperature. Serve pasties with a cup of hot, sugary tea, if you like.

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