Cornish Pasties

Delicious meat and vegetable filled pastry shells. Even better the second time around!

For the new Harry Potter movie, we decided to make some food from Great Britain. At the top of the list: Cornish Pasties!

Word of wisdom: they are pronounced “past-eez” not “pAYst-eez” to avoid any confusion. ;^)

Original source: SeriousEats

Ingredients

• 2 recipes of pastry dough, chilled & ready to use.
  • can substitute pie crust or pre-made pastry dough
• flour (for dusting)
• filling:
  • 1/2 lb. hanger steak (or flank steak), chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 parsnip, peeled & finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled & finely chopped
  • 1 small leek, finely chopped
  • 1 potato or sweet potato, peeled & chopped
• 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• seasonings:
  • thyme
  • oregano
  • salt & pepper

Equipment

• large bowl
• small bowl
• 2 cutting boards & knives
• silicone pastry mat
• rolling pin
• medium skillet
• vegetable peeler
• pastry brush
• baking sheet

Setup

1. Make pastry dough first. It takes about 2 recipes of pastry dough for one recipe of pasties. Remember that it needs to chill for at least an hour before using. I usually make the dough, then prepare the ingredients below while it chills.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Lightly flour pastry mat

Process

1. Heat skillet on medium-high heat, add butter or olive oil, then add leek and onion. Cook until soft and fragrant, usually about 5 minutes. Cool.
2. Combine all ingredients for filling in large bowl. Season to taste with seasonings.
3. Roll pastry dough to 1/4 inch thickness, then cut into 5-inch circles. I can usually get 4-5 circles per recipe of pastry dough.
4. Put 1/3 cup of filling mixture on half of pastry circle, brush edge with beaten egg, then fold over and seal. I used my fingers to seal them with the greatest success, but you can also use a fork.
5. Repeat until all pastries are made. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush tops with beaten egg.
6. Place in oven at 400°F, then turn down to 350°F once they begin to brown. Continue to bake for 25-30 minutes, until done. I usually check temperature with a meat thermometer to make sure it is fully cooked.

Notes

• 2016-12-09 - It took a bit of practice to figure out how to fold and seal them properly without them breaking apart, but after doing a few it became much easier. Thankfully pastry dough is very flexible and can stretch a little bit if needed. These were most excellent as leftovers as well. I recommend doing the best you can to season the filling before adding the meat. My first round was woefully under seasoned.
• 2018-12-30 - Should have read that part above carefully - take advantage of the flexibility of your pastry dough. These things can hold quite a bit of filling!