Cornish Pasties - this time with suet pastry

For some reason, I had been hankering after making some Cornish Pasties for the longest time.  However, as hubby is always somewhat dubious about my pastry I hadn't broached the thorny subject.  What made the difference in this instance, was the advent of the suet pastry recipe from Jamie Oliver that I used in the making of the Kate & Will's Wedding Pie.  This pastry has been so successful that it has become both my menfolk's casing of choice for all savoury pies and pasties.

So when I suggested home made Cornish Pasties - for "English baking week" on one of my favourite Facebook pages - but made with the gold star of pastry recipes, hubby was won over and agreed.

Ready for the oven

Now I will admit that as regards the other Cornish Pasty recipe on Rhubarb & Ginger, it doesn't differ a very great deal.  However, I thought it was good to make a whole new blog posting about these pasties as opposed to simply making a note on the original recipe.  Clarity, and all that.  *wink*

All baked and ready for their paper bags and adventure!

Aside from the issue of the pastry, the only other significant differences between the two recipes are that this one uses chopped steak (rather than steak mince) and this one also utilises a half a crumbled Oxo cube by way of seasoning, to just up the flavour profile a wee bit.  Oh - and I paired mine with some healthy stir fried vegetables, whereas the menfolk had the ubiquitous man food of hash browns and baked beans with theirs.

The pasties turned out to be so very successful, as the pastry really is tasty and firm enough to easily cope with the filling.  Hubby felt that there still wasn't enough black pepper in them (even with my including it in the pastry!) for his liking and I do have to agree.  I think another half a teaspoonful would have done the trick, so feel free to add extra to the filling if you're a fan of peppery Cornish pasties.

I ate the one leftover pasty the following day for my lunch.  It was just as good, if not better, cold - and with some tasty pickle or relish would not be out of place on the lunch menu of any good Cornish pub.

Now I have a few Cook's Tips for you :

1.  It really is very important that the pastry is handled and worked as little as possible.  The longer it is handled or worked, the tougher it will bake.  As regards the water, I have found that carbonated mineral water adds a little lift, but if you don't have carbonated just ordinary very cold tap water will be sufficient.

2.  I roll the pastry out between two pieces of cling film rather than on a floured surface, which is by far the cleanest way I know of it do it.  Now this has the added benefit, once you've cut out your circle, of providing you with some cling film to close over the top of the pastry and prevent it from drying out while you make the other three!  I found it was worth turning the pastry over before adding the filling, as it was easier to pick it up from the cling film, that way.

3.  If you are using steak, rather than steak mince, you should ensure that the meat has a little bit of fat marbling it, for flavour.  Too lean and your pasties won't have that lovely beefy flavour.

4.  The black pepper is an essential - and more rather than less.

5.  A simple but most effective tip is always to egg wash before you cut the slits or holes in the pastry.  Do it the other way around and the holes will fill with egg which will seal as it cooks - and your pasties will unzip themselves in order to let the steam out.  It is also worth taking care to not let the egg drip off onto the paper lining or it will burn as the pasties cook.

There.  Who'd have thought making pasties could be so complicated?  *chuckle*  It isn't complicated at all really - it's just a matter of avoiding some of the little things that could so easily spoil what would otherwise be a perfect bake.

So now all you need is to find some brown paper bags in which to put your hot pasties, then off you go to somewhere suitably rural in which to eat them, along with lashings of ginger beer and some slabs of fruit cake.  Oh - that would be Dorset pasties then, not Cornish.  *wink*

Either way, in front of the t.v. or on a windswept hillside - enjoy them!

CORNISH PASTIES (suet pastry version)

Ingredients :

For the pastry ...
-  300g all purpose (plain) flour
-  100g vegetable suet
-  100g salted butter
-  pinch of sea salt
-  pinch of fresh ground black pepper
-  120ml very cold water (I use refrigerated and carbonated mineral water).

For the filling ...
-  300g lean beef steak, cut into strips, then diced finely
-  a medium onion, diced
-  1 medium sized potato, peeled and diced finely
-  one quarter (or less) of a swede (rutabaga), peeled and diced finely
-  a good pinch of sea salt
-  1 heaped tsp of freshly ground black pepper (more if you like it!)
-  half a beef Oxo cube, crumbled.

Optional : 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley.

1 egg, for egg wash.

Method :

1.  Firstly make the pastry, by placing all the ingredients but the water into a bowl.  Rub the butter into the flour (doesn't matter if some suet comes along for the ride) until you have small cornflake shapes.

2.  Add the water, mixing through with a knife until the dough begins to come together.  You may need a little more water, or a little less, so add it in a couple of instalments to be on the safe side.  Do not knead the dough at all.  Just pat and push it until it comes together in a ball.

3.  Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.

4.  Take the filling ingredients and mix together in a bowl, making sure to crumble the half Oxo cube finely and mix it in well.

5.  Cut the pastry into four even sized pieces and roll each one out into a 4-5 inch circle.

6.  Egg wash around the edge of half of each circle.

7.  Divide the filling evenly between the four pastry circles, placing it on the opposite side to the egg wash.

8.  Fold the free edge gently over the top of the filling, pressing down lightly around the edges to seal.

9.  Crimp the edge in whichever manner you feel most confident, the important thing being that the edges are very well sealed.

10.  Place onto a parchment or non-stick silver foil lined baking tray.

11.  Egg wash the four pasties.

12.  Cut a couple of slits (or make holes) in the top of each pasty.

13.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200degC/400degF/Gas 6 for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180degC/350degF/Gas 4 for another 40 minutes.  Remember to turn the baking tray half way through the cooking, to achieve an even bake.

Serve either hot from the oven, or cold the following day with a pickle such as my Rhubarb & Apple Relish.  Gorgeous!

Printable version

Smoked Haddock & Sweetcorn Tart - superb picnic food!

If you don't make anything else over the course of the next two weeks, do try and make this tart - you won't regret it!

I'd reached the point where I had decided on meals for 6 out of the 7 days for the week, when it occurred to me that I was trying to find something for Tuesday - shopping day.  The point here is that shopping day is a perfect choice for something fishy.  I hate having to freeze fresh fish, and would by far prefer to use fresh over pre-frozen, you see.

So I pondered on the recipes I already know that involve fish and nothing filled me with enthusiasm.  So, I looked on the web for "Haddock Recipes" - and turned up HaddockRecipes.co.uk, a simply brilliant choice for all kinds of recipes involving haddock.  Several were skipped over, until I found the tart recipe from Laura Young.

Isn't it funny, how some recipes just say "Yes!", whereas others don't light up your imagination at all?  The minute I saw the name, I thought "oh, now, this one looks likely!" and upon first read-through I could almost taste how it was going to turn out.

Of course, I didn't count on Asda having a superlative piece of smoked haddock that, I am sure, turned this from a nice recipe into a gorgeous recipe.

On the way to do the shopping, it dawned on me that I didn't have a tart tin big enough to accommodate this tart.  As it turned out, neither did Asda - but they did have a glass Quiche dish that was the perfect size and by happy coincidence, made the perfect receptacle.  Serving was something of a delicate exercise, but achievable.

This photograph is so evocative, it makes me hungry!

I give my version of the recipe below, because I've altered four things in it.  Firstly, I've included a lot more fish, as the amount given just wasn't enough to cover what was quite a large tart tin.  Secondly, I've changed the wholegrain mustard to Dijon mustard, as I found the whole grains sank to the bottom of the egg mixture.  When you poured it into the tart tin, the whole grains all fell out in one place instead of being spread across the tart.  I can't help but think that Dijon will stay evenly spread.  Next, is that I recommend poaching the fish via the microwave, rather than on top of the cooker.  I find it a lot quicker and easier.  Lastly, I have dropped the temperature for cooking, from 220deg C to 190deg C.  I found the higher heat too aggressive for the pastry, which was very nearly burned by the time the tart was done.  The tart will need longer cooking, but that's fine so long as the pastry doesn't burn!

Apart from the lovely fish, I also used three Burford Brown eggs.  Burford Browns are just so gorgeously rich and I felt a tart like this could cope with a richer egg.  The ensuing flavour was beautifully savoury, yet light, without being at all sickly - even with 150ml of Double Cream in the mix!

So, do yourself and your family a favour - and make this recipe.  You won't regret it!

SMOKED HADDOCK & SWEETCORN TART  (Feeds 5)

Ingredients:

Pack of shortcrust pastry
500g smoked haddock
100ml milk
3 eggs
150ml cream
150g sweetcorn, drained
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Handful of parsley
Salt and pepper

Method :

1.  Place the fish into a microwavable dish with the milk and some seasoning. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, to poach the fish until just shy of being done.  Remove it from the microwave and take each piece of fish out onto a plate to be flaked.  Reserve the milk.

2. Roll the pastry out to around 1cm thick and place it into a 23cm (9in) diameter loose-bottomed tart tin without trimming the sides. Line the pastry with baking parchment, and then tip some baking beans onto the paper. Blind bake the pastry for 15-20 minutes at 190deg C and then remove it from the oven and set it to one side.

3. Beat the eggs and mix them with the reserved milk and the cream. Finely chop the parsley and add to the mixture, along with the Dijon mustard. Season well.

4. Remove the baking beans and parchment from the pastry and then sprinkle the bottom of the tart with the sweetcorn and the flaked fish.

5. Pour the egg mixture over the fish and sweetcorn and then place the tart into the oven at 190deg C for 35-45 minutes, or until the surface no longer feels as though there is wet egg underneath it.

6. Once cooked, trim the excess pastry and then allow the tart to cool before cutting it into slices. 


For a main course, serve with new potatoes and a side salad.  Perfect also for picnics.

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