Cornish Pasty

Ingredients

For 4 portions

• 🌾 500g flour
• 🧈 125g butter
• 🧈 125g lard
• 🥤 175ml tap water
• 🥩 400g beef steak (raw)
• 🥔 300g potato
• 🪴 150g swede
• 🧅 150g onions
• 🧂 2 Tsp salt
• 🌿 1 Tsp black pepper
• 🍳 1 large egg

Method

1. Makes 4 large pasties.
2. Pastry: mix the flour with 1 tsp of the salt. Rub in the cold, cubed butter and lard with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the cold water a little at a time and bring together into a firm dough. Knead for 1 minute until smooth, wrap and chill for 1 hour (or 3 hours for the easiest rolling).
3. Filling: cut the beef skirt (or chuck) into small 1 cm pieces, removing any gristle. Peel the potato and swede and cut into thin, rough 1 cm slices; finely chop the onion. Keep everything raw and separate.
4. Preheat the oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
5. Divide the pastry into 4 and roll each into a circle about 20 cm across and 3–4 mm thick (a side plate makes a good guide).
6. Layer a quarter of the potato, swede and onion across the middle of each circle, season with some of the remaining salt and plenty of pepper, then top with a quarter of the beef and season again. Finish with a little more potato.
7. Brush the pastry edge with water. Bring the two sides up over the filling and press firmly together along the top, then crimp the edge by folding and twisting it over itself all the way along. Make sure there are no gaps.
8. Brush with beaten egg and cut a small steam hole in the top.
9. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 170 °C (150 °C fan) and bake for another 30–35 minutes until deep golden. The meat and vegetables steam inside the pastry.
10. Rest for 10 minutes before eating, hot or warm.