Cheese and Onion Pasties

Pasties … Great Britain’s most popular ‘grab and go’ food.  Chock full of fillings, pasties or hand pies are available in bakeries, sandwich shops, convenience stores, grocery stores, food trucks and carts … just about everywhere.  Counted among one of hubby’s top favs is the “Cheese and Onion Pasty“.  For the history and origins of the “pasty”, please check out my “CORNISH PASTIES” page.

Some pasties are made with a short crust (basically a pie crust dough), and others are made using a puff pastry dough.  The difference between the two is puff pastry is lighter and flakier and has a much higher ratio of butter to flour.  As delicious as it is, it can be quite challenging to make.  Short crust pastry is very easy to make especially if you have a food processor.  I’ve used a short crust many times before, but for Cheese and Onion Pasties I’ve decided to use something even easier than short crust pastry … pre-made puff pastry from the grocery store.

If you decide to make these (and, yes I recommend you try them), when you read the ingredients you’ll notice there are potatoes.  Yes, potatoes are part of the filling, but for some reason, they are never called “Cheese, Onion and Potato Pasties“.  The potato adds just enough bulk to the filling so that the cheese doesn’t just melt right out.  These are very easy to make, but will take about 40 minutes to prepare.  Well worth the effort.

CHEESE AND ONION PASTIES  
Bake at 400° for 20 to 25 minutes.  Makes 6 (or more)

1 lb. puff pastry sheet (thawed)
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced
6 oz. good quality aged cheddar cheese, grated
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper

This is a great recipe if you happen to have leftover boiled potatoes.

If not, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water and cook til tender (about 10 to 12 minutes).  Drain and set aside.

In a saute pan, melt the butter and add the diced onion.

Saute over medium heat until transparent (also about 10 to 12 minutes) but not browned.


In a large bowl, combine the cooked, diced potatoes with the cooked, cooled onions, parsley and the grated cheddar cheese.

Don’t skimp and buy low-quality cheese.  Good, aged, cheddar is what you want.

Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well, but lightly.  You don’t want mashed potatoes.

On a lightly floured board, roll the sheet of puff pastry out until its about 10″ x 12″.  You don’t want the pastry too thin or the filling will pop through.

Cut the pastry into six long, evenly sized rectangles.

If you’d rather make circles, or any other shape, feel free. There are no rules.  Just be sure to place the filling on one half of the pastry.

Divide the mixture evenly among the six pastries, placing the filling on one end only.

Brush the edges with the beaten egg.  Fold the other end of the pastry over the top and seal the edges securely.

Either press the edges together with your fingers or crimp with a fork.


Place the six pasties on a parchment lined baking pan (or two pans, as I did).

Brush the tops with the egg wash.  Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the pasties are puffed up, crisp and golden brown.

Transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Serve these hearty hand pies hot out of the oven for a delicious lunch, or pack them away to be eaten later.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.  Hearty, cheesy and delicious!

Cheese and Onion Pasties

I think to be enjoyed at their best, they should be served warm in all their cheesey gooeyness.
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Cornish Pasties

Every time we visit England, the first stop my husband has to make is to a motorway rest area.  Yes, the very same ones that appear along highways and motorways everywhere …. except in England where they have a food truck in the parking lot selling authentic “Cornish Pasties”.    “One Cornish pastie and one cheese and onion pastie, please.”   We then go back to the car where he savors every last bite.   Knowing how much he enjoys these rustic hand pies, I have learned to make them.  They may not have the “terroir” of the ones in England, but they’re pretty darn good.

History of Cornish Pasties
A “pastie” is a pastry pie, most often filled with meat and/or veggies.  It is thought that pies  originated in England around the 1300s as a practical way to serve and preserve meats.  The better cuts of meat were, of course, used by the wealthy upper class, with the lower class reduced to using entrails and organ meats, known at that time as the “umbles” (from which we get the term “eating (h)umble pie, meant as an apology).  Now these “umbles” are referred to as “offal” and are quite the trend in gourmet dining.

During the Middle Ages the pies were highly spiced (in an attempt to cover up the rancid flavors, I’m assuming).  With no refrigeration, pie making took place on a Monday and they were expected to last the week, if not longer.  Eventually, pie making took place outside the home and the “pie man” became as important as the ‘butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker’.  Hopefully, I’m not the only one who remembers the nursery rhyme “Sing a song of six pence, a pocket full of rye, four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.  When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing, wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king?”

The pie quickly became popular as a method of providing a hearty meal to laborers who worked on the farms and in the mines.  A hearty pie could be transported easily, required no plates or utensils and would sustain a worker til he returned home at night.  Originally the hand pie was made with a savory meat filling at one end and a sweet fruit filling at the other.  Who doesn’t love a little dessert at the end of their meal?

miners eating pasties

The Cornish pastie is so revered, in 2011 it received protected status from the  European Commission.  You can buy pasties all around the U.K., but to buy a “Cornish pastie” the Commission requires it to be prepared in Cornwall, but it can be baked elsewhere.  Also, it must contain uncooked meat, potatoes, turnip, onion, salt and pepper (nothing more).  It must be in the shape of a “D” and be crimped along one side.  If it does not meet all these requirements, it can be a “pastie”, but not a “Cornish pastie“.

It appears even Hobbits enjoyed pasties in the Shire ….
Hobbitt pies 2

Classic Cornish Pastie Recipe
Like regional foods everywhere, every family has their own special touches.  The following is the classic recipe, which we love.  Feel free to add your own special touch as well.  You should get 8 to 10 servings, depending on the size of the rounds you cut from the pastry.  If you are going to prepare your own pastry, it does take a little extra time, but its so good.  Prepackaged pastry, however,  works just fine.

The Crust
All purpose flour – 2-1/4 cups
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Butter, cold, unsalted – 8 ozs., cut into cubes
Cold Water – 6 tablespoons or more
The Filling
Chuck steak – 10 ozs., cut into 1/4″ dice
Onion – 1 small, cut into 1/4″ dice
Potato – 1 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice
Parsnip – 1 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
Butter
Egg – 1 lightly beaten

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl (or food processor) and add the cold, cubed butter.  If you are using a food processor, pulse quickly til the butter is incorporated but still visible.  If using your fingers, or a pastry cutter, incorporate the butter only until the mixture looks like bread crumbs.  Add the cold water and mix with a fork quickly until a dough forms.  If more water is needed, don’t hesitate to add it, but a little is all you need.  Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead briefly.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.  You want the dough to stay as cold as possible to get that nice flaky crust.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Place a rack in the center of the oven.  Prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper.  While the oven is preheating, in a large bowl combine the diced meat, onion, potato and parsnip.  Add the seasonings and set aside.

On a floured board roll out the pa??????????????????????stry dough until it is 1/4″ thick.  I cut the dough in two pieces to make handling a bit easier.   Using a plate, or pot cover, or anything that will give you a 6″ diameter round (or larger, if you’d prefer), cut rounds out from the pastry dough.

 

Stack the rounds on a plate with waxed paper in between to prevent sticking.  Gather up the scraps and reroll them.  Don’t be wasteful.  You should have 8 to 10 6″ rounds.

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Using one pastry round at a time, place about 1/2 cup of filling to the side of the pastry.  Add a pat of butter onto the filling and then brush the beaten egg around the edges.  Fold the unfilled side over the filling and press down to seal.

 

Starting at one edge, crimp the edges to prevent leaking.  A traditional Cornish pastie has 21 crimps.  The most I could achieve was 14.  Oh well, more practice is needed!

Place the pasties on the baking sheets and brush with the remaining egg.  Cut two slits in the top of each pastie to allow steam to escape. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until the edges begin to brown.  Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until golden.  Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.   For lunch, a quick supper or snack, they are delicious.  Enjoy!!

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Armed and Ready

We just returned from a week in northern England.  During our quick visit, we attempted to consume as many calories from English sweets and savories as we possibly could manage.  From Cornish pasties to Eccles cakes, we sampled, critiqued, analyzed and devoured all our favorites (and some which weren’t).  Now armed with quite a few interesting English bakery cookbooks, I am ready to proceed.   Cheese and onion pasties here I come!

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