If you know what Cornish pasties are, then these are like a vegetarian version of that. Tasty, filling, hot or cold, for lunch or dinner... they are a very versatile option. Packed full of nutritional and all natural ingredients - unlike ready-made pies and pastries which are full of artificial ingredients and preservatives - you can feed these to your family knowing they're being nourished not poisoned!
I used to love Cornish pasties before I became vegetarian. Traditionally they are meat and vegetable filling (beef, potatoes, swede and onion), developed in Cornwall, England, as a lunch for the tin miners. The crimped thick crust served as a 'handle' so the miners' dirty hands wouldn't contaminate the meat, as arsenic often accompanied tin within the ore they mined. What a great idea, although I always thought it was a shame they would have to discard that lovely crust, as I considered it the best bit! Nowadays there are a wide range of fillings in Cornish pasties to suit all tastes, even sweet varieties such as berries and custard.
What you will need for the filling: (Makes 6 large)
3 large potatoes
6 medium carrots
3 large onions
1 bulb garlic
2 cups peas
3 cups mixed beans*
2 tblsp red wine
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tsp honey
2 tsp tomato puree
1 tblsp basil
1 tblsp thyme
1 tblsp rosemary
1 tblsp parsley
1 tblsp black pepper
Sea salt to taste
* I always have my own stash of cooked-from-dried beans in the freezer, which is super handy if you do a lot of vegetarian cooking. Please see my previous post on the easiest way to batch cook beans. In this recipe I used black turtle beans and pinto beans, but any type will work just as well as it's the texture of them that will give these pasties their 'meatiness'.
What you will need for the pastry:
16oz fine wholewheat flour
8oz butter
Pinch salt
Enough cold water to form a dough (approx 2-3 tblsp)
Method:
Peel, wash and then finely dice the potatoes and the carrots. Put them in a steamer until almost cooked (approx 15 mins), but still slightly firm (or they will turn to mush in the pasties)
Dice the onions and finely chop the garlic, then with a knob of coconut oil saute in a large pan until softened (5 mins)
Next add the beans and peas to the pan... These are the beans I used which were thawed from frozen
Add the potatoes, carrots, and all the flavourings/seasonings and mix well. Set aside to cool whilst you make the pastry.
In a large bowl add the butter to the flour (if you cut the butter into small pieces it makes this easier). Using your fingertips rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
Gradually add the water - a little at a time - and blend with a knife until you have enough moisture to hold it together
Form into a neat dough with your fingertips. Try not to over-handle pastry, otherwise it tends to crack
Roll out to about 0.5cm thickness and cut into six fairly equal pieces
Gently roll each piece out a little more to get more of a squarish shape, to about 8" diameter. This doesn't have to be exact, it just needs to be big enough to fold over with the filling in
Add about 3-4 generous dessert spoonfuls of pasty mixture onto the pastry, and then using a pastry brush paint water round the edges so it will stick together when folded
Fold the pastry over and scrunch the edges together to form a thick crust. Slice a couple of 'breathing' holes into the top to allow steam to escape when baking
Put onto lightly-floured baking trays and pop into a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celcius for 30-40 minutes, until golden looking and the pastry is crusty
Serve hot or cold, with or without a side of chips, wedges, vegetables, salad, homemade baked beans, whatever you like!
I had some left-over pasty mixture, and so as not to waste it I decided to quickly make it into some veggie burgers - you can see my previous post on how to make these if you want more more detail.
All I needed to do now was make some breadcrumbs (I use my homemade Wholewheat Irish Soda Bread as it gives a lovely crunchy crumb). The easiest way to make breadcrumbs is either in a food processor or manual veg chopper like I use. If you don't have either, you can use a cheese grater. Put the crumbs in something flat like a plastic tray, then in your hand form a 'quarterpounder' of burger mix, then drop it into the crumbs. Then get your hand right underneath it to scoop it up and flip it over, so that both sides get a good coating of crumbs. Handle gently at this point as it doesn't hold its shape too well, but don't worry, it will be just right once cooked!
Pop them onto a lightly floured baking tray and place into a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celcius for 30 minutes. You can freeze them if they're not going to be eaten straightaway.
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Many thanks.
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