A traditional Cornish pasty is served warm with the meaty filling piping hot inside the shortcrust pastry casing.
While there are so many versions of this British lunchtime staple available to buy in supermarkets, bakeries and restaurants, making it from scratch is the best way to ensure it’s done right.
And Rick Stein has the perfect recipe as a Cornwall resident himself, claiming he knows the “proper” way to bake a Cornish pasty.
Sharing his method in series two of his hit programme, Rick Stein’s Cornwall, the chef said: “I love Cornish pasties, particularly for lunch. I think it’s just a very well-balanced meal and very convenient – in a bag just right.”
The recipe couldn’t be easier to follow with a simple four-ingredient pastry and straightforward filling.
Method
Make a start on the pastry so it has time to rest before being rolled out. To do this, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and add half of the butter. Rub it in between the fingers to form fine breadcrumbs with no lumps.
Stir in the rest of the butter and water to form a soft dough, and start kneading the mixture to smooth it out. Once combined into one large ball of dough, roll it out into a rough rectangle.
To make the turnover shape, fold up the bottom third of the dough and then fold down the top third. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for half an hour. Then, unwrap the dough and roll it out again into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
Repeat the turnover shape by folding the thirds and rolling it out until all the pieces of fat have disappeared. Then fold up the dough once more, wrap it in cling film and chill for another half hour.
Meanwhile, cut the swede and potatoes into 1cm thick rounds then slice lengthways into 1cm thick “chips”. Rick noted that you should cut these across into 5mm thick pieces before mixing them all in a bowl along with the steak and onions. Season with plenty of salt and pepper.
Next, roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface until it measures 3mm thick and cut out four 20cm discs. Spoon equal amounts of the filling mixture into the centre of each pastry disc and lightly brush the edge of one-half of the pastry shape with water.
Bring the edges together over the top of the filling and press to form the pasty shape. Then, working from left to right, fold in the corner with 2.5cm of the edge pointing inwards.
Fold over the next 2.5cm and continue like this along the edge, to create a rope-like design which will seal the pasties. Place them on a greased baking sheet and brush with egg wash (one beaten egg). Chill for one hour before baking in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas four for one hour, turning them around after 30 minutes so they all brown evenly.
