Cornish pasties

Image courtesy of Our Cornish Pasty Shop.

Pronounced with a short A, pasties originated in Cornwall, England. Despite their name, they are not the sexiest food in the world. But they are hearty. And tasty.

Pasties (not paaaasties, people), are meat pies that are also very popular in Northern Michigan, where Cornish ex-pats turned-copper-miners used to take them underground for meals.

The traditional recipe for pasties is good, but, in our opinion, a little dry.

In honor of our upcoming trip to our homeland of Michigan, we whipped up a batch, but added...(plug your ears you purists)... gravy.

This version we like a lot. A whole lot.

Rating: 3/4 assed (There is some chopping to do. Yuck.)

Here's what you need and how you do it

4 rounds of prepared pie crust (we buy the rolled, frozen kind)

1 pound ground beef or cubed steak

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1-2 cups potatoes (any kind), cubed

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Ground black pepper

Gravy:

Drippings from cooked meat

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup flour, whisked into a small amount of water or broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

Splash of white wine (?) (Which is not at all traditional, but sure adds something.)

In a large skillet, brown meat, onion and carrots. Pour off drippings into a separate sauce pan.

To the drippings, add broth, flour (mixed with water to keep it from getting lumpy), salt and wine (?). Heat until warm and thick.

Add potatoes, parsley, salt and pepper to meat in the skillet. Pour in gravy and stir until well mixed.

Spoon some meat mixture into one-half of each pie crust half circle, leaving a generous margin. Fold over and crimp edges. (You can use a fork for this, or just roll with your fingers.) Continue until each crust is filled and crimped.

Place pasties on cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for about a half hour.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Comments

[christy]

My husband is Welsh and we eat these all the time when we visit his family. I LOVE these things. We have a similar recipe here - and I'll add this to our notebook to try next time we make them. Yours sound delicious too!!!

[Gullible]

My Swedish mother, born in Northern Michigan, also made these. I don't recall hers being dry, though.

And in Australia, these things are called "pies" and are everywhere, in every size, shape, and internal decor imaginable--including kangaroo. The Aussies eat them at sporting events instead of hot dogs. They are as crazy about them as they are about (gag) Pavlova.

Gullible
http://gullible-gulliblestravels.blogspot.com/

[Suzanne]

My only problem with these is that I would be sorely tempted to eat half a dozen in one sitting as it combines my favorites: savory and bread(pastry).

BTW, I wanted to tell you, I love the design of your blog, it's so clean and kitchen-like (by that I mean inviting), I especially like the header's design. well done!

[Kelley]

This looks so good! They serve something very similar at the Highland Games here every summer, but I never thought to make them at home. I bet my son would love them!

[Melody C]

I love to analyze the geography of different foods. For example, think about how many cultures have some sort of breading around fillings. Whether it's the pastie here (I agree with the addition of gravy!), our American sandwich (skipping its own history) which has evolved into several things (Hotpockets!), and Latin American empanadas. All for the ease of eating!

[john]

Pronounced with a short A...

silly brits. i work with 2... they crack me up-

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[Ruth Ann]

Hi there!
I love your site! my first time here from PW. Scoping out your recipes which ALL look wonderful! Anxious to try some of them.
Oh, you are in Seattle. I have only been there one time...way, way back in the early 70's. my folks lived on mercer island and they thought they were in paradise for 18 months before they were transferred back to Dallas. That is a beautiful part of our country up there where you are!
I will enjoy visiting here and thanks! I love the title of your blogs...so so funny! Thanks for making me smile today!

Ruth Ann

[km]

the miners used to have a little bit of jelly at the end of the pasty for dessert. it was not touching the meat but was a built in to the pastry. that's really traditional though

[notmuchofacook]

Came to your blog from I Am Bossy. I have bookmarked this. It looks great. Also, I was thrilled to find pasties here. We make them every Christmas Eve (I think they are a bit labor intensive, what with all the dicing and all), but totally worth it. We don't add gravy or brown the cubed meat before we cook the pasty. I do add melted butter inside of the slits about halfway through the baking time. It adds just enough moisture. Then...we eat them with ketchup! What a treat pasties are!

[Melissa]

A small correction that matters only to a Michigander. They are popular in the Upper Peninsula. Northern Michigan is northern portion of the Lower Peninsula.