Classic Cornish pasties

  • Portion size: Makes 6
  • Hands-on time 1 hour, oven time 
1 hour, plus chilling
  • Difficulty: medium

Debbie Major turns her expert hand to proper Cornish pasties made with braising steak, tweaking and perfecting the recipe until she finds her best possible version.

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Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 100g hard margarine, such as Stork Original baking block
  • 100g lard
  •  
450g strong plain white bread flour, 
plus extra to dust
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 
200ml ice-cold water

For the filling

  • 
450g braising steak (skirt, chuck or blade), cut into 1cm pieces
  • 225g peeled swede, cut into 1cm cubes
  • 
600g peeled waxy potatoes, such as charlotte or anya, cut into 1cm cubes
  • 
225g onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 medium free-range egg, beaten
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Method

  1. Freeze the margarine and lard 
for at least 1 hour until very firm.
  2.  Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Remove the margarine and lard from the freezer and coarsely grate them on a box grater straight into the flour, flicking some of the flour onto the fats as you work if they start to get a little sticky.
  3. Rub the grated fats into the flour 
with your fingertips, then mix in the 
ice-cold water using a dinner knife until 
it all comes together into a soft dough.
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  5. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 1 minute until smooth and slightly elastic. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.
  6. Meanwhile make the filling. Mix the steak, swede and potatoes in a bowl 
with the chopped onion, 1 tsp salt and 
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
  7. Weigh the pastry, divide into 6 equal pieces, then roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface to a 20cm circle. Weigh the filling, divide equally into 6 and pile it into the centre of each circle. Use your hands to pack it gently into a rugby-ball shape that sits across the centre of each pastry circle. Brush one half of each pastry edge with a little water, then bring it over the filling and press the edges together well. Fold over and crimp the edge with your fingers to give a good seal. Put the pasties, spaced well apart, on a baking sheet 
lined with non-stick baking paper and 
chill for 1 hour.
  8. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Remove the pasties from the fridge and brush them generously with the beaten egg. Make 3 small slits in the top of each pasty and bake for 1 hour until richly golden. Transfer the pasties to a wire cooling rack and eat while still warm.

Nutrition

  • 778kcals Calories
  • 36.5g (11.8g saturated) Fat
  • 29.5g Protein
  • 79.9g 
(5.2g sugars) Carbs
  • 6.2g Fibre
  • 0.2g Salt

Make Ahead

Make and chill the pastry up 
to 2 days ahead and keep well wrapped in the fridge, or freeze for up to 1 month. The unbaked pasties can be made a day ahead, then baked to order. Any leftover cooked pasties will keep for a few days in the fridge. They’re best warmed in the oven or microwave to serve.

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Rate and review

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Reviews

lin carroll

I seem to have enough filling for about 20 pasties lol

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