By The senior class fundraiser bake sale was Saturday at Broken Arrow High. Mrs. Patterson the guidance counselor had asked me, in November, if I would do a centerpiece bake for the spring fundraiser. I said yes. The recipe I picked is Cornish pasties from a Mel’s Kitchen Cafe post — handheld meat-and-vegetable pies in flaky pastry, the British miner’s lunch from the 1850s.
The math: two pounds of all-butter pastry made from scratch, ground beef, diced potatoes, onion, carrot, garlic, salt, pepper, an egg wash. Total: about $13 for ingredients. Reimbursement $50 and tip $30.
The technique is the pastry seal and the steam-vent. Roll the pastry into eight-inch rounds. Fill the center half with diced beef-potato-onion-carrot mixture. Fold over and crimp the edges with a fork. Cut a small steam-vent in the top. Bake at 400 for thirty minutes until golden.
The pasties sold out at the fundraiser by ten in the morning. Mrs. Patterson said, when she handed me the envelope, Kaylee, you carried this fundraiser.
The recipe is below. The trick is the all-butter pastry — do not substitute shortening.
Easy Cornish Pasties
Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup cold butter, cubed
- 5–6 tablespoons ice water
- 3/4 lb beef sirloin or skirt steak, finely diced
- 1 cup Yukon Gold potato, peeled and finely diced (about 1 medium)
- 1/2 cup turnip or rutabaga, peeled and finely diced
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Instructions
- Make the pastry. Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, mixing just until the dough comes together. Divide into 6 equal balls, flatten into discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the filling. In a bowl, combine the diced beef, potato, turnip, and onion. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Toss until evenly mixed. Do not pre-cook — the filling cooks inside the pastry.
- Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Assemble the pasties. On a lightly floured surface, roll each pastry disc into a circle about 7 inches in diameter. Spoon roughly 1/2 cup of filling onto one half of each circle, leaving a 3/4-inch border at the edge. Fold the empty half of dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly together, then crimp with a fork or fold and pinch by hand to seal.
- Vent and wash. Place pasties on the prepared baking sheet. Cut two small slits in the top of each pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush generously with beaten egg.
- Bake. Bake at 400°F for 40–45 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is cooked through. Let rest 5 minutes before serving — the inside will be very hot.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 490mg