Cornish cuisine doesn’t get more traditional than a pasty, so much so that the food even has its own national week.
The meaty, stuffed pastry product is celebrated this year between Monday, February 26 to Sunday, March 3, during which there’s no better time to try making them at home.
One Cornwall-based mum has a traditional recipe that uses just a handful of basic ingredients and couldn’t be easier to follow.
In a video posted on her TikTok profile (@mummajules), Juliette Rouncefield revealed how she makes “delicious” Cornish pasties from scratch.
The result is a tray of beautifully golden pasty cases filled with flavoursome cubes of beef skirt, potatoes and white onion.
Method
Make a start on the pastry by combining the plain flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl then rub in 250g of cubed butter until well combined.
Gradually add the ice-cold water until the mixture forms an elastic dough-like consistency. Work it into a large ball of dough before wrapping the pastry in cling film.
Leave this to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling by mixing the diced beef skirt, diced potato, diced onion and swede. Everything should be cut to the same size for even cooking.
Add plenty of salt and pepper to taste then set aside until the pastry has finished resting.
Preheat the oven to 170C then dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the chilled pastry. It shouldn’t be too thin as it needs to hold the filling, and the diameter should be just over 20cm to cut out the shapes.
Take a plate with a 20cm diameter to cut out pastry circles and place a portion of filling somewhat central but close to one side of the circle.
Add two pieces of butter on top of the filling then fold the circle over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Seal and crimp the edges securely before transferring the pasty to a baking tray lined with grease-proof paper.
Combine the egg yolk and tablespoon of milk in a small ramekin and whisk before brushing each pasty with the wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown, then serve hot.
