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Authentic Cornish Pasty Recipe Alternate Text Cornwall, England

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We strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though

Introduction & history

One of the staples of British cuisine, the Cornish pasty is a savory pastry with a filling made from cubed beef, potato, rutabaga, and onion. While the recipe does not clearly state what type of pastry dough to use, shortcrust pastry is most commonly used. The traditional recipe calls for the ingredients to be uncooked when the pasty is assembled. Round pieces of dough are folded over a dollop of filling and crimped together at the edges, resulting in an unmistakable final product in the shape of the letter D.

Cooking tips

  • pastry

    The number one rule is that the pasty should not break or lose shape. To ensure that does not happen, use strong flour with more gluten to make the dough more robust and elastic. Before baking, another important step is to chill the dough in the fridge for three hours to make sure pasties do not break or lose their shape. And as stated before, the original Cornish pasties need to have a letter D shape.... Read more
  • ingredients

    The traditional meat choice is beef skirt steak which has little fat and no cartilage, which allows it to be cooked at the same time as the vegetables — it is important to keep in mind that vegetables and meat should be cut into roughly equal pieces in order for them to cook at the same time. Potatoes should not fall apart while cooking; use waxy potatoes and avoid starchy varieties. And remember,... Read more
  • baking

    The ingredients should be uncooked when assembling the pasty, but some recipes precook the ingredients to improve the flavor. To get a crisp crust, place the pasties in a preheated oven and bake until golden brown, then reduce the heat and let them bake until cooked through. Once baked, leave them to rest for 30 minutes before serving to ensure all the flavors have been well combined.

Recipe variations

Gordon Ramsay’s Cornish Pasties

PREP 45min

COOK 35min

READY IN 1h 20min

4.3

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Adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food, these pasties largely resemble the original Cornish pasties, but are tweaked a bit — the recipe uses different cuts of beef, namely rump or sirloin, while the meat and vegetables are precooked to add more flavor.

 

Ingredients

8 Servings

Gordon Ramsay’s Cornish Pasties

600g plain flour

¾ tsp fine sea salt

300g cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

9-12 tbsp ice-cold water

400g (14 oz) waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte or Desiree

½ rutabaga, about 400g (14 oz)

1 large sweet onion

400g (14 oz) rump or sirloin of beef

sea salt

2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

20g butter, diced

1 medium egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

1

Gordon Ramsay’s Cornish Pasties

Step 1/5

Combine flour, salt, and butter until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs, then add 9 tbsp of water to form the dough—add more if needed. Knead the dough for a few minutes, then form into a ball, cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2/5

Cut the vegetables and meat into equal, 1 cm pieces, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté the meat in the mixture of 1 tbsp olive oil and 10 g butter for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a plate.

Step 3/5

In the same pan, add the rest of the butter and fry the vegetables for 5-7 minutes until slightly golden. Add the juices from the beef and cook till the vegetables are tender, then combine with the beef and leave to cool.

Step 4/5

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Make four equal pieces of dough and roll out each one to a 3-4 mm thick circle; trim each to 25 cm in diameter – help yourself with a dinner plate to measure that out. Evenly divide vegetables and meat onto each one and sprinkle with salt and pepper once more.

Step 5/5

Cover the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg, then fold in half and crimp the edges to prevent the filling from leaking. Place the pasties onto a large baking sheet and brush them with the beaten egg, transfer in a preheated oven and bake. After 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 180 °C and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Cover with greaseproof paper if the pasties start to get overly brown.

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