Cornish Pasties

Hi everyone! Jan here, with a recipe re-do. The first time this recipe appeared in the Cafe was almost FIVE years ago!

Here's what has happened in our lives since then: Connor (best dog EVER) passed away and a year later was replaced by Thatcher (cutest dog EVER!), and Wynter became an old lady - turning twelve last December.

Add to that two weddings, a college graduation, multiple trips into the Black Hills of South Dakota (pretty much out our front door) and a few trips to the Wyoming mountains, adult children moving in and out, and six books published. 

A lot has happened in those five years!

But I still love this recipe. :) So enjoy this post from the past!

Cornish Pasties

by Jan Drexler

Our discussion a couple weeks ago about Regional Favorites started me thinking about some regional favorites that span cultures. Some dishes are so simple, so basic, that it seems every culture has a version.

One I’m aware of is the Cornish Pasty (that’s pass-tee, not paste-tee). There are versions all over the country, brought by immigrants from various northern European countries.

There’s the Bierock, brought to America by the Volga Germans and Russians, and you find them in Kansas. The Runza – very similar to the Bierock – is also from Germany, and you find them in the eastern parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska and parts of Minnesota. These two are so similar you can almost say they’re the same, but don’t say it out loud when you’re in Kansas! They’re both made with a yeast dough shell and filled with a ground beef and cabbage mixture. The big difference between them is their shape. Bierocks are bun-shaped, while Runzas are rectangle shaped. Yes, I know, not much of a difference, but don’t tell the Kansans or Dakotans that…

The other common variation has a pastry shell. The Fleishkuckle, also from Germany, is common in North Dakota and parts of South Dakota. The filling is made of ground beef, ground pork and onion. The Cornish Pasty is the other version with a pastry shell, but has a diced beef, potato, turnip and onion filling.

You’ll find similar dishes in the Italian Calzone, the Russian Chebureki and various smaller versions like the Chinese Wonton, the Polish Pierogi and the Italian Tortellini.

All of these hand pies were developed for one purpose: a quick, portable, filling meal for the men to take to the fields or mines with them. One real advantage is that if your hands are dirty (which they are – just think about miners and farmers and no running water…), you can hold your meal by one corner and then discard the soiled end of the pie.

The one I’m most familiar with – because of my Michigan roots – is the Cornish Pasty. It was brought to America by the Cornish families who immigrated here to work in the copper mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The only other place I’ve found them is right here in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in Lead (pronounced Leed), where the Cornish miners came to work in the Homestake Gold Mine. You’ve heard of “Black Hills Gold”? This is where it comes from. Lead is just down the road from Deadwood, and I've heard you can still find gold in the area. I've also heard that there’s a grocery store in Lead where the locals still buy their pasties. What can I say? It’s tradition.

Here’s the recipe for your own Cornish Pasties! This recipe will make about six pasties, with enough leftover pie crust to make a couple pies or apple turnovers.

1.     Pastry or pie dough – use your favorite, or you can use mine:

Never-Fail Pie Crust

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 cup shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 beaten egg

5 1/2 to 6 Tablespoons water

Blend the flour and salt in a medium bowl.

Cut in the shortening. I like to use butter, but it also makes a great pie crust with lard or vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco). The butter gives you a better tasting crust that browns more easily, but the lard or shortening gives you a flakier crust.

Anyway, cut in the butter or shortening, and then beat the egg in a separate bowl, and add the vinegar and water. The amount of water you add will depend on the humidity on the day you make the crust. It's a good idea to start with the lesser amount, and then add more later if you need it.

Pour the liquid into the flour mixture, and mix well. The dough should be able to stick together, but not be sticky. If you aren't able to form the dough into a ball, add a bit more water. If it's too sticky, sprinkle in a little more flour.

This recipe makes enough dough for three single crust pies, or one single crust and one double crust, so there is plenty to work with as you make your pasties. 

2.     Filling:

o   ½ cup onion, cut into small cubes

o   1 cup potato, cut into small cubes

o   1 cup swede, cut into small cubes (see below for an explanation of this ingredient!)

o   6 oz. beef – round steak or rump steak – cut into small cubes

o   Salt and pepper

One note - This basic recipe is pretty bland, so feel free to add more seasoning! One of my favorite seasoning blends is 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon marjoram, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes. Mix it in with the filling, or use your favorite seasoning blend.

Another note - Because I used lean beef, I added gravy to these when I served them. But you can add moisture to the pies before you bake them. You can add oil to the filling, or melted butter (both of those add the fat back in that isn't in the beef). Or you can use some gravy, or beef broth. Just be careful! You don't want the filling to be too wet. Just enough to make the everything hold together.

And a third note - When you cube the meat and vegetables, make sure the cubes are uniform in size, about ¼”. I bought thin cut round steak, and since it was already about ¼” thick, making the little cubes was easier. After I finished, I thought I should have tried using my food processor. The size of the pieces doesn’t matter, as long as they’re small and uniform so they cook evenly.

My dogs always want to share whatever I cut on the cutting board, and yes, I do give them the scraps. Wynter isn’t too sure about veggies, but doesn’t want to be left out.

Connor, on the other hand, inhaled his piece of parsnip so fast, the only picture I was able to get was him looking for more…. 

You will also need one egg beaten with about 1 Tablespoon water to make an egg wash.

And now you’re asking “What is Swede? Do I have to cook a Swedish person?” Ewww. No one would eat it! No, Swede is the British term for a yellow turnip, or Rutabaga. I didn’t have Swede, or Rutabaga, so I substituted a white turnip and a couple parsnips.

Roll out a small portion of your pie crust dough into a round about 1/8” thick, and larger than 6” in diameter.

Using a 6” plate or bowl, cut a circle out of the dough.

Place a spoonful of filling in the center of the dough (be generous, but not so much that you can’t seal the Pasty). Next, brush some egg wash on the edge of the circle with a pastry brush.

Bring the edges together and seal them, making a half-moon shape, then fold and crimp the edges with your fingers to make a secure seal.

Move your Pasty carefully to a greased baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper), and brush egg wash over the surface.

Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes. (And don’t go to another room and get lost on the internet like I did when these were baking…they were in for an hour…).

You can serve these warm or cold, but believe me, they’re better warm. Gravy is a nice addition, too...

                  

Can you think of other dishes that span cultures like this one? Let’s hear about them!

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Pie Crust Blues

Tex here. A few weeks back, Ruthy did a post on quiche (click here to see it) which got me to craving quiche. So after a few days of thinking about nothing but quiche, I decided to make my own. To do this, I started with one of those refrigerated pie crusts that are already rolled out. They're good, they're easy, and...well, they're easy.

The quiche was great, the crust was great, nuf said.

So Saturday, I decided to make that mouthwatering treat again. Except I didn't have any refrigerated pie crusts. And I wasn't about to run to the store. I'll just make my own.

Epic failure.

I've tried countless times to make my own pie crust, but I can never get them to roll out right. I made sure my ingredients were cold. I wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for thirty minutes. I was careful not to add too much flour or water.

I don't get it. Why can I not do this?

Ruthy would say it's because I didn't use her never-fail pie crust (recipe here), which is probably true. Nor did I go back and look at Jan's pie crust demo (click here to see it and be a better person than me).

Sigh.

Alas, on the second try, I finally got the crust rolled out enough to fit in the pie plate. I didn't care much what it looked like because, like people, it's what on the inside that counts. So until I can master the art pie crusts there's only one thing left to do.

Let them eat cake!

(This gorgeous creation is courtesy of my daughter, Rachel and her little helper on the right.)

Pies and Generations

Jan here, getting ready for one of my favorite holidays!

What is it about Thanksgiving that brings out the best in us? We spend a whole week or more preparing for an entire day of giving thanks. And when we do it right - the giving thanks part, not the preparing part - aren't we blessed with the best day ever?

One thing I give thanks for quite often is my family - past, present and future.

This is a picture of my mom (the little girl in glasses), my grandmother (looking more stunning than I ever remember her looking!) and my uncle, Johnny, taken in 1936. These are the people who gave me my love for pies (and books, too, but that's another story).

My grandmother taught home economics before she got married, and was well prepared to be a wife and mother. Then the Great Depression hit - and Grandma used her skills to feed her family very frugally. 

My dad says one of his first memories of his mother-in-law was noticing how thin her pie crust was. She got more pies out of a batch of dough than anyone else he knew.

My mom never felt she was as good a cook as her mother, but I think she was better in the kitchen than she realized. 

This picture is her in 1940 at age eleven, with a cake she baked herself. Not bad, right?

This side of the family - my mom's side - is Church of the Brethren from way back. Like back in Germany in the 1600's.

My dad's side was Amish, became Amish-Mennonite, and then Brethren.

And that's a huge pie heritage that I inherited.

So when I was asked to review this new cookbook by Jerry and Tina Eicher, I turned to the pies, first thing. And of course there are pie recipes in an Amish Cookbook!

Since Friday, the 9th, was my Mom's 83rd birthday, I decided to make her favorite kind of pie - Custard.

It's also my favorite pie. Go figure :)

The Eicher's cookbook has a the same crust recipe as I use, but since it only makes enough for one pie, I did cheat a bit as a reviewer - I used my own pie crust recipe.

So we'll start with the crust.

Never-Fail Pie Crust

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 cup shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 beaten egg

5 1/2 to 6 Tablespoons water

Blend the flour and salt in a medium bowl.

Cut in the shortening. I like to use butter, but it also makes a great pie crust with lard or vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco). The butter gives you a better tasting crust that browns more easily, but the lard or shortening gives you a flakier crust.

Anyway, cut in the butter or shortening, and then beat the egg in a separate bowl, and add the vinegar and water. The amount of water you add will depend on the humidity on the day you make the crust. It's a good idea to start with the lesser amount, and then add more later if you need it.

Pour the liquid into the flour mixture, and mix well. The dough should be able to stick together, but not be sticky. If you aren't able to form the dough into a ball, add a bit more water. If it's too sticky, sprinkle in a little more flour.

This recipe makes enough dough for three single crust pies, or one single crust and one double crust. 

Now, you need pie plates. Here's a look at my collection.

The three on the top are ones I've had for years. The bottom three are ones that were my mom's, and I rescued them (along with a van full of other stuff) from my dad's garage sale last spring. I normally use an 8" pie plate, but one of my mom's is a 9". 

One thing I like about this custard pie recipe is that it gives you the ingredients for either an 8" or 9" pie.

Now, divide your pie crust dough into thirds, and roll out one third on a floured board or counter.

Try to keep the thickness of the dough even - but, you know what? Nobody will notice if one side is 1/8" thick and the other is 1/4" thick.

This next step is where a dough scraper comes in handy. A spatula would work, too.

Carefully lift the edges of your pie crust, lifting the crust as you loosen it, and lay it over your free hand.

When you've folded over half the dough, loosen the remaining half, but leave it on the board.

Now get one of your pie plates, and ease your folded dough onto the plate.

Carefully...carefully...fold the top half of your dough over to the other side of the pie plate.

Next it's time to ease the crust down into the plate. You don't want to just push the dough into the corners - that stretches the dough, and as it's baking, it will shrink back to its original size.

So lift and ease the dough into the plate.

Now the fun part. Do you remember the scene from Disney's Snow White movie where Snow White is making a pie and the birds carry away the scraps of the crust as she trims them off? Lift the pie plate up, angle a table knife along the edge of the plate and slice around the edge of the pie. Sorry, I can't guarantee cute birds will show up!

Final step: crimp the edges, and your pie crust is ready. 

How do you crimp the edges? Pinch the dough between your index fingers and thumbs of both hands, more along the crust and repeat the motion, over and over until you've gone all the way around.

Yes, it takes practice.

Yes, it's a skill worth developing :)

Now for the filling!!!!

Old-Time Custard Pie

Ingredients for an 8" pie:

3 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 3/4 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients. Pour into pastry-lined plate. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until knife inserted halfway between crust and center comes out clean, 10-20 minutes longer.

As you can see, I didn't get a picture before the vultures descended.

And yes, it tasted that good!

My mom would love a bite, but since she lives 1000 miles east of the Black Hills, I'll just have to eat her piece.

She won't mind. Really.

Oh, and remember that my pie crust recipe makes enough dough for three pies? I rolled out the crust, put it in pie plates, and stuck the other two in the freezer.

Next week? Pumpkin Pie ! 

Guest Mary Curry with British Cheese and Onion Potato Pie

British Cheese and Onion Potato Pie

Guest Blogger Mary Curry

I know it’s January and we’re supposed to be being good and eating low-carb and all, but potatoes are good for you. Really. They’re a good source of potassium, so think of this recipe as good for your blood pressure. Besides, it’s the perfect warm up your insides food for a cold January day.

Whew! Now that I’ve gotten the rationalizing out of the way, let me tell you about this recipe.

My youngest daughter is a vegetarian which is fine most of the year but it makes holiday meals difficult for her. This year I was trying to find a recipe to entice her while everyone else was savoring the Christmas ham.

I stumbled across a recipe on BBC for a Cheese and Onion Pie. Since my daughter spent a wonderful month in London this summer and was still longing to go back, I figured this would be a hit.

This is the basic BBC recipe:

Ingredients

For the pastry

·       450g/1lb plain flour, plus extra for dusting

·       2 tsp baking powder

·       ½ tsp salt

·       120g/4½oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

·       1 free-range egg yolk

·       50g/2oz parmesan cheese, grated

·       120ml/4fl oz water

·       1 free-range egg, beaten, for glazing

For the filling

·       1 medium potato, peeled and cut into cubes

·       2 onions, finely sliced

·       1 tbsp plain flour

·       50ml/2oz whole milk

·       50ml/2oz double cream

·       150g/5½oz mature cheddar cheese, grated

·       ½ tsp English mustard

·       ½ tsp cayenne pepper

·       salt and freshly ground black pepper

I’m going to be honest with you – I didn’t follow the recipe much at all.

First, I didn’t make the pastry crust. I used the Oronoco Farms frozen crust I had in the freezer. My daughter loves that crust so why mess with it?

Second, I basically used the ingredient list and then adapted it to what I had on hand. I used about 8 large potatoes, peeled them and set them to boil.

  

While the potatoes boiled, I diced 1 sweet onion and 1 red onion and sautéed them in Irish butter until they were translucent.

Then I mixed the potatoes, the onion mix, some milk and lots of cheese and layered it into the pre-baked pie crust, topped it with an extra layer of cheese, and set it to bake about half an hour at about 350 degrees.

The result was delicious. Both my daughter and I ate way too much of it and then we enjoyed leftovers for a few days. It was that good!

So this is what the BBC pie looks like.

I didn’t put the top crust on mine because I liked the bubbling cheese on top. I’m sure either way is delicious. (And the BBC one looks a whole lot prettier.)

I did a variation another night with artichoke hearts but that wasn’t as delicious as I’d imagined it would be. The artichokes just got mushy. I’d like to try it with salmon baked in but I’ll have to do that separate from my daughter’s portion.

Have you ever made something like this? Do you have any suggestions of things to add in for variety?

And here’s a link to the original recipe. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cheeseandonionpie_89625

Pie Crust - NO WHINING ALLOWED OR NEEDED, LOL!

Now you're thinking how can Ruthy make pie crust interesting.

She can't.

BUT SHE CAN MAKE IT TASTE PASTRY-FLAKY GOOD AND THAT'S THE MAIN THING.

SO:
4 cups flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Mix these together. With a fork. This is EASY-PEASY, no complaining allowed.

I like to use bread flour. I get the Baker's and Chef's from Sam's club... the 25 lb. bag. Yes, I'm THAT DEDICATED to baking.

But here's a more normal version, LOL! 

Then cut in with our handy-dandy pastry blender or two knives criss crossing each other:

1 3/4 cup Crisco

Mixture will look suspiciously like the topping for Dutch Apple pie only won't taste as sweet. Try it. You'll see I'm right.

Now mix in a smallish bowl:

3/4 cup water
1 egg
1Tablespoon vinegar

Add this to Crisco/flour mixture. Mix with fork until mixture leaves side of bowl. If too dry add a little more water.

Roll into ball.

Cut ball into 5 equal wedges or 4 if you like super-huge, ginormous pie-pans like I do.

Each wedge should be slightly flattened and rounded (pancake shape) and wrapped in plastic wrap. Each will make one pie crust. 

When ready to make pie, roll a flattened piece out on a flour covered table or countertop. I do not use cloths. Or boards. Or anything fancy. Just flour and a good, solid, kid-training rolling pin.

If it stops rolling EASILY (about six or seven strokes in) roll flattened crust up onto rolling pin, re-dust counter or table with flour (making messes is fun and crucial in a good kitchen) and then unroll the crust back into the fresh dusting of flour and keep doing this sweet maneuver until the crust is about four inches bigger than the pie pan...  This gives you room for sides and fluting.

(I love that word, Fluting)

Roll the crust up, around the rolling pin and gently unroll into pie pan. Sometimes it tears. Sometimes it doesn't. No biggie.

And if you mess up, this is the worlds MOST FORGIVING CRUST!!!!  You can re-roll and it still tastes wonderful. Flaky. Delicious.

I keep a bunch in the freezer. I wrap the small sections in plastic wrap and then pop them into a freezer bag and just pull out however many I need. They don't take long to thaw and presto-chango!!!  Pie crust.