Sunday, July 9, 2017

Rhys's Sunday Recipe

RHYS BOWEN: One of my favorite parts about my time in Europe every year is visiting my sister in law in Cornwall. I love staying in the old manor house, slowing down to the rhythm of country life AND eating the wonderful food. Cornwall, for those of you who don't know, is the far Western and Southern tip of England, a Celtic-speaking land bathed in history and mystery. Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Doc Martin... and clotted cream and pasties. Two of my favorite things in the world.

When I am there I eat cream teas with scones hot from the oven, home made strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream on top. So thick and golden you'd think it was butter (but it tastes much better).
And pasties! Yum. They were made for the miners going down the tin mines. They couldn't come up to eat their midday meal so they couldn't wash their hands. The rim of the pasty was designed to hold it and then throw away that part.

So I thought I'd share the recipe with you today. They are time consuming but so worth it.

Half a pound of good quality steak, sliced wafer thin
Carrots, turnip, potatoes all sliced very thinly
1 big onion chopped finely
small amount of beef bouillon
short crust pastry.
Pre-heat oven to 425
Make short crust pastry dough to your favorite recipe. Roll it out very thin and cut into circles about 8 inches diameter.
 on one half place thin layer of potato, carrot, turnip, onion and then top with thin slices of meat. Sprinkle some bouillon over it, or use better than bouillon or even Marmite if you are British. If you are not, you won't have it in the house!
. Fold dough in half to make a pasty shape.  Fold over, crimp and seal the edges.
Bake  on baking sheet at 425 about 40 minutes or until it turns golden.
(The steam of cooking vegetables keeps the meat moist)

This recipe was given to me by a Cornish woman! Others cut steak into cubes but I like mine this way.

Pasties these days can contain other ingredients, chicken, lamb, curry, potato leek but this is the original.
And the best pasties, after an extensive search, are to be found in Marazion, across from St. Michael's Mount. And this is a photo of one just before we devoured it.

24 comments:

  1. This sounds so yummy . . . we're definitely going to try it here!
    Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  2. Rhys, I had my first pasty at the covered market in Oxford. I loved it, and I loved that it was handed to me in a paper bag, so I could eat as I walked down the street. Then I saw lots of people doing that. They would eat their lunch sandwich, pasty or baguette, from a paper bag as they walked down the High. It has been one of the things I miss most about the town and Christ Church College.

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  3. You might guess correctly I first called it a pasty rather than a pasty.

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  4. The pasties look delicious, Rhys. I had my first pasty in Cornwall over 30 years ago. I don't think I will try and make them myself, though. We had "the Great British Pasty and Pie Co." stall at our Sunday Farmers' Market, and I get my fix there.

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  5. How do you pronounce it? Is it the same as a hot pocket :-)?

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    Replies
    1. Hank: LOL. Pass-tee. They are a popular food here in Michigan, brought to us by Cornish miners.

      Thanks for the recipe, Rhys! I don't like turnips so I use carrots instead.

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  6. Replies
    1. Only if you want to. It can be a bit stodgy , too much dough

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  7. Reading this I had a Great British Baking Show moment at the words "Make short crust pastry dough to your favorite recipe." What's in a short crust pastry dough? Is it like a pie crust? It must be sturdier to hold up.

    There used to be a chain in the US that sold pasties at our mall (anyone remember the chain?), and I always got one. That savory smell lured me over. Such a perfect snack when it's past noon and you're hungry but don't have the time to stop and have a meal. Of course I thought were pronounced paysties. Same shape.

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    1. Yes, pastry you'd make for pie crust. Rub butter into flour, add ice water until it's a firm dough. Chill for an hour. Roll out on floured board

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  8. Yum. They look spectacular. I've never managed to get mine to come out just right on the bottom. Always a bit soggy, but it doesn't stop me from eating them! Thank you for the recipe, Rhys. Happy Sunday.

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  9. I love these, I think they came to every locale where Cornish miners traveled. They are in Washington State too - tho may be via Michigan. I use rutabaga in place of turnips. I also discovered I could press an 8 " pan lid to the dough. It acts like a giant cookie cutter, making my pasty circle more.. er circular. I wont be cooking these until the fall, nice to have the most authentic recipe to use. Thanks Rhys

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  10. Oh, Rhys, I am always so envious of your yearly trip to Cornwall. It is my #1 place that I want to go, and if things work out, I hope to in the next couple of years. I want to visit the graves of my Boone ancestors in Stoke Canon, Devon, and work my way over to Cornwall.

    I don't think I'll try to make my own pastees, as I want my first one to be in England, and apparently, it should be at Marazion.

    Thanks for a lovely post today, Rhys.

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  11. Rhys, I have had pasties in Cornwall, but not in much too long! I've never contemplated making them but you've inspired me.

    I don't usually use bouillon because it tends to have MSG in it. Any suggestions for a substitute?

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    Replies
    1. Better Than Bouillon brand is pretty good and I've found it in my local grocery (Publix).
      Libby Dodd

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  12. My mother used to make these for us. She would pack them in foil and cotton towels and take them to the ski area for our lunch. They are one of the fondest memories of my childhood!

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  13. This looks delicious, Rhys. Like Kathy, Cornwall is on my must-see list. The landscape looks spectacular!

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  14. Be sure to poke some holes in the crust so the excess moisture can vent. (As in the picture, but not the instructions.)
    I think if you make the crimped edge thin enough, it should be rather like the edge crust of a pie, i.e. yummy.
    Libby Dodd

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  15. Had pasties in Bath on a London trip...oh my, so good!!! Thanks for shgaring, Rhys.

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  16. I've never had one, but it sounds delicious.

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  17. Rhys, your search for the perfect pastie must have been a lot of fun!

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