Traditional Cornish Pasty Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Traditional Cornish Pasty Recipe made from scratch with a homemade shortcrust pastry, and filled with the classic diced beef, potato, swede and onion. They are lightly seasoned with salt and black pepper, and baked to perfection until the pastry is golden, and the meat and veggies are tender. The nation's favourite pasties, so easy to make at home with simple ingredients.

Prep Time50

Cook Time1

Chilling Time30

Total Time2 20

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: English

Servings: pasties

Calories: 463kcal

Author: Daniela Apostol

Ingredients

500 g plain flour (4 cups)
60 g lard (2 oz)
60 g vegetable shortening (2 oz)
30 g butter (1 oz)
175 ml cold water (6 fl oz)
1 egg for brushing the pasties

For the filling

200 g beef skirt steak (7 oz)
200 g potatoes (7 oz)
100 g swede ( 3 oz, also known as turnip, neep or rutabaga)
1 onion
7 small cubes of butter
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

To make the shortcrust pastry, sift the flour into a large bowl.
Add the butter, vegetable shortening and lard cut into cubes, and use your fingertips to rub the fat with the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the water, and bring everything together into a dough.
Cover with clingfilm, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 7 smaller balls, and use a rolling pin to roll to roll into large discs (20 cm / 8 inches)
Preheat the oven at 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit).
Cut the beef and vegetables into small cubes, and mix everything together, then season with salt and pepper.
Divide and spoon the filling onto each dough disc, top the filling with a small cube of butter, then brush the edges with water, and fold the dough over.
Crimp the pasties by pinching the fold between your thumb and fore finger.
Brush the pasties with beaten egg, then transfer to a large baking tray lined with non-stick paper.
Bake for about one hour on the middle rack of the oven, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is cooked through.

Video

Notes

Make sure the beef and vegetables are cut evenly so they can cook at the same time. We want small cubes, otherwise larger ones will not have enough time to cook well.
Be generous with the amount of ground black pepper you use, since the pasties don't use any other seasoning, the pepper will make such a difference!
Crimp the pasties tightly, so the juices don't leak during baking. Using beaten egg to brush the pasties also helps keep the edges sealed well.
You can also make them ahead and freeze either baked or unbaked. Store leftover pasties in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Nutrition