The best pasties

Name: The best pasties
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 5
Ingredients: 300 g g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting; 200 g plain flour; 1½ tsp table salt; 150 g butter, cold and cubed; 100 g lard, cold and cubed

You haven’t truly experienced the South West without snaffling a pasty. Here, Martha Collison shows you how to make your own warming and comforting version

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Makes5
CourseLunch
Prepare30 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr 20 mins

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300g g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
200g plain flour
1½ tsp table salt
150g butter, cold and cubed
100g lard, cold and cubed

For the steak filling

350g pack 2 British beef bavette steaks
275g potato, peeled
175g swede, peeled
1 small onion
1 tsp sea salt flakes
½ tsp ground white pepper
1½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
50g butter, cut into small cubes
1 mixed size free range egg, beaten

Start by making the pastry. Place both flours and the salt into a large mixing bowl and add the butter and lard cubes. Using your fingertips, rub the fats into the flour until you have a texture resembling rough breadcrumbs with a few small pieces of fat remaining (these give the pastry a slight flakiness).
Pour in 175ml cold water, then use a round-bladed knife to stir until the mix begins to clump together. Knead the pastry for 1-2 minutes in the bowl until you have a smooth dough that feels slightly elastic. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Slice the steak into thin strips, no more than 5cm long, then place into a large bowl. Slice the potato and swede using a mandoline, or use a sharp knife to cut thin, equal-sized slices, then cut into small rectangular pieces, about 2x1cm. Finely slice the onion into thin half-moons. Put the vegetables into the bowl with the meat, sprinkle with the salt and both peppers, then toss well to combine.
Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7 and line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment. Remove the pastry from the fridge, cut into 5 equal-sized pieces, then shape into balls. Lightly flour the work surface and roll the first The Best piece of dough out into a circle about 20cm wide – cut around a 20cm side plate as a guide. Place a generous handful of filling (you want the pasty to be full to the brim) into the centre of the circle, using a cupped hand to compress the mix as much as possible. Top with a few cubes of butter for added moisture. Lightly brush the edges with water.
With pace, pick up one edge of the circle and quickly fold to meet the other edge, forming a D shape and trapping the filling inside. Using your fingers, poke any protruding filling back inside, then crimp the edges tightly. Use your thumb and forefinger in a pulling and pressing motion, to create a neat, well-sealed crust. Place the pasty onto a baking tray and repeat the process with the remaining pasties.
Brush the pasties with the beaten egg, bake both trays together for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180ºC, gas mark 4 and bake for 35-40 minutes more, swapping the trays around halfway until golden brown and the beef is cooked through with no pink meat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then enjoy hot or leave to cool completely.

Cook’s tip

Mini pasties
This recipe makes large pasties, perfect for a filling lunch. If you want a snack-sized treat, try cutting circles with a 10cm cutter or drinking glass of similar size to make mini pasties instead. You might find them easier to assemble if the meat and vegetables are cut a little smaller than in this recipe. These will take 30 minutes to bake (10 minutes at 220ºC, gas mark 7, then 20 minutes at 180ºC, gas mark 4). Makes 30.

Pepper
Traditional Cornish pasties are the definition of making the best of simple ingredients, and the same is true of the seasoning. Salt and pepper are the only permitted flavour enhancers, so be sure to use enough of each. A few grinds of pepper into the bowl will not do – grind into a saucer and use a spoon to measure the proper amount. A pinch of ground white pepper helps to drive home that spicy pepperiness too.

Pastry
Cornish pasty pastry is a curious hybrid of shortcrust, flaky and bread dough. A portion of the flour mix should be strong bread flour that contains a higher percentage of gluten, giving the pastry the structure needed to contain the masses of filling inside, and for the pasties to retain their integrity once cooked. The lard and butter shouldn’t be rubbed in too much at the beginning to ensure the pastry keeps a flaky quality. And don’t forget the salt!

Typical values per item when made using specific products in recipe