| The History Of The Cornish Pasty |
| And Other Cornish Recipes |
| The traditional Cornish Pasty was filled with beef, potatoes, onions and turnip, but these days a pasty is filled with almost anything. |
| The Cornish Pasty was given to tin miners to take underground. Their wives would mark their husbands initials into the crust so the miner would know it was his. Often these were savoury at one end, and sweet at the other, jam or fruit. The crust was held by dirty hands as the miner would not be able to wash his hands, the pasty was very nourishing and the crust was thrown away. |
| Ingredients: For the Pastry 1lb plain flour Pinch of salt 1/2 lb butter, lard, marg or a combination of all 3, cubed cold water to mix Method Rub the fat into the flour but not too finely. Add the salt and then start adding the water gradually until it works together into a ball without being sticky. Put aside in a cool place. For the Filling 3/4 lb beef. diced small onion, finely chopped raw potato, small sliced raw swede or turnip diced Method Roll out the pastry to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using a small plate cut out circles. Moisten the edges with milk or water. Put a small layer of prepared vegetables then a layer of beef on one half of the pastry. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper then add a small bit of the butter. Fold the pastry over the filling, squeeze the half circle edges firmly together, turn the edges over to form a crimp (crust). Brush pasty with beaten egg and put a small cut in the centre of the top to allow steam to escape. Bake in a hot oven 220 degrees centigrade/ gas mark 4 for about 50-55 minutes. |
|
|
|
|
|
| For some very interesting and amusing reading, take
time to sit back, chuckle and have a browse through this site I came
across the other day, well worth a visit.
The Cornish Pasty and Pastypaedia Link has been added with the kind permission of the site owner. |
| Ingredients
8 oz plain flour 2oz butter Pinch salt 1 teaspoon castor sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 pint milk Method Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cut or rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and enough milk to mix to soft dough. Roll the dough into a ball, cover and allow to rest for about half an hour. Turn onto a floured surface, knead gently and roll out to about 2.5 cm (1 inch) thickness. Cut into 5 cm (2 inch) rounds using biscuit cutter or sharp knife and place onto a baking sheet. Brush with a little milk, this will allow the scone to colour during the cooking process. Put in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly brown and springy to the touch, then cool on a wire rack. |
 |
 |
|
Clotted Cream The richest cream of all. Cornish Clotted Cream is the main constituent of a 'cream tea' served with scones and jam. 2 pints of very fresh milk. Pour the milk into a wide-topped basin and leave to stand for a while in the fridge, up to 8 hours for best results. Stand the basin in a shallow pan of water and bring slowly to the boil. Continue simmering, slowly, for 2/3 hours, until the cream has formed a rich bubbly crust. Allow to cool for several hours, in the fridge. Skim off the clotted cream into a dish. This should make about 4oz of cream. The remaining milk can be used for tea or coffee, or to make a pudding with, bread and butter pudding maybe?! We didn't actually make our own cream !! I cheated, and popped down the local village shop and bought some !! |
| Other Cornish recipes to follow !! |
| Home |