Pasty Pie

Monday 11 January 2010

Pasty Pie   

 





Simple Simon met a pieman going to the fair. Said Simple Simon to the pieman, "Let me taste your ware!" My husband is a real "Pie" man as opposed to being a "pieman." 



He doesn't sell pies, he just loves to eat pies. There is nothing he likes more than a pie and mash supper. I think it must be his "East end"roots coming to the fore.



 Pasty Pie 
 



I am quite fond of pies as well, although . . . to be honest, I try not to eat them very often these days, because of the fattening nature of the beast . . . you know how it is I'm sure.

 
 Every once in a while though, I like to treat him to a tasty homemade meat pie . . . sometimes it's steak and onion, other times it might be a chicken and mushroom, bacon and potato, etc. As long as a crust is involved, he's not really bothered. 

 
Oh, and he does like them with either mash or chips . . . there has to be some potato on the side there as well, even if there is potato in the pie.   



Pasty Pie 



 
Usually he smothers it all with gravy. I believe that's also an East End thing. The East End of London is filled with pie shops offering pie, mash and gravy.


 
 Pasty Pie  
 



Pasties are a very popular version of a pie over here. Hand sized and shaped like a half moon or up-ended purse, they seem to come with all sorts of fillings. 
 

 I do admit to having a liking for the steak and stilton ones . . . although to be honest . . . does anything that includes a filling that contains anything other than beef, potato, swede and onion actually qualify as being a Cornish pasty??? 

 Probably not . . . but then again, a rose by any other name eh? 


Pasty Pie 
 



If it tastes good, then I'm not going to quibble about a name. Not me, that's who.  



Pasty Pie 



 
 I made him a tasty plate sized Pasty Pie yesterday for his tea. Well, he couldn't eat the whole thing of course, but he did make a good dent in it. 

 
The rest has been cut into single sized servings, packed up and stogged into the freezer for me to take out and treat him with on those occasions when I can't get home from work to make him some tea . . . or those times when I just have to satisfy my pasta craving . . . and as we all know by now. Todd hates pasta.  



 Pasty Pie 



 
 Here it is. Deliciously tasty.  With it's flaky buttery crust and delicious layered filling of  swede (rutabaga), potato and beef, it went down a real treat!


 
 Pasty Pie 



 
*Pasty  Pie*
Serves 6

A whole pasty large enough to feed a whole family.  What could be better than that.  A delicious buttery pastry encases a delicious filling of swede, potato, onion and thinly sliced beef sirloin.  Simple, hearty and scrumptious!  Perfect winter food, and great served at room temperature on a summer picnic. ( Plan ahead as the pastry need to chill for at least an hour before assembling.)

For the crust:
2 cups all purpose flour (280g)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter (76g)
1/3 cup lard (or white vegetable shortening) (74g)
5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water

For the filling:
16 ounces potato, peeled and thinly sliced (1 pound)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces swede (Rutabaga), peeled and thinly sliced (3/4 pound)
16 ounces thinly sliced beef sirloin (1 pound)
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
a large handful of  flat leaf parsley, chopped

To finish:
1 large egg white beaten with 1 tsp water

Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas.  Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Form in to a ball and cut in two pieces. Form each into a round flat disc.  Warp in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

When ready to assemble, heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.  LIne a large baking tray with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator.  Roll out on a lightly floured counter to a 13 inch circle.  Transfer to the lined baking tray. 

Start layering the filling as follows, generously sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper and a bit of water, and leaving a 1 1/2 inch edge all around.  First half of the potatoes, then half the swede, then the second half of potatoes, and the second half of the swede.  Layer on half of the sirloin. Season, then add all of the onion, and half the parsley.  FInish with the last of the sirloin and parsley, again seasoning each layer with some salt, pepper and a sprinkle of water.

Remove the remaining disc of dough from the refrigerator and roll out as before into a round large enough to cover the filling completely.  Brush the edges with some egg white and seal and crimp all the way around.  Brush the remaining egg white over all of the crust.  Pierce several times with a sharp knife to vent. 

Bake in the heated oven for 60 to 75 minutes until golden brown and cooked completely inside.  The potato and swede should be soft and the meat tender.  Cool for five minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

    
 
Pasty Pie 



This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

 Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

17 comments

  1. Oh, YUM! Pasty's are just about my favorite, FAVORITE thing! I love the look of that flaky pastry crust of yours, Marie! The pounds are piling on my hips as I just look at your photos! Sheer perfection! Pretty much anything with a good pastry involved makes me happy!

    Hope your Sunday was delightful, and that your getting going on a lovely Monday--hope it starts to warm up a bit for you, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh wow, one bite of that would make me feel all better! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks so delicious. Your pastry looks amazing.

    I also make a pasty pie Marie, but I use beef skirt which is a great cut of beef.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've always wanted to try my hand at these. Now I see how beautiful and delicious your photos are and my resolve is only deepened. This look irresistible.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm with both of you guys on this one - like Todd there is nothing I like more than a pie ... or anything encased with pastry - but like you I try to stay away becasue they are so bad for the hips! Why is it that everything 'bad' for you is always exactly what you want?!?!?!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That really does look good for this cold weather! Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  7. pastys were originally made by the wives of tin miners in cornwall. one end will have had meat and veg and the other end with have had a fruit or jam filling. Main dish and pudding...

    The extra thick crimping of pastry on one side was to hold and was then discarded as it would have been dirty from their hands. The original disposable take away.

    Love the blog by the way, thought I would de-lurk for this post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This looks so yummy! I love a good pie, sweet OR savory. I'd love to try this, but I have a question. What is "swede"? Thanks for any help!

    By the way, your whole blog is wonderful. I plan on making lots more of your recipes. Thanks for sharing them with us.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sure does look good, but I don't know what swede is either. Help Dawn

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've never had pasty pie but it most certainly looks and sounds wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. We love pasty's, my favourite is steak and stilton too Marie...yumo! My lot love meat and potato pie which is a real Preston speciality. This looks like a very posh version, have printed it off and will try it on them at the weekend. I bet they guess its one of yours!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Look delicious Marie, I love it, huggssss gloria

    ReplyDelete
  13. omg my dad would love one of these!!! he misses his days in england.

    ReplyDelete
  14. @Sharon, swede aka rutabaga aka yellow turnip :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sorry I missed yours and Sharon's questions Dawn!! Swede is indeed yellow turnip, or rutabaga as it is also known!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm with Todd. I hate pasta too. Nothing like English food; it is the best.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I love to hear from you so do not be shy!


BEFORE LEAVING A COMMENT OR RATING, ASK YOURSELF:
Did you make the recipe as directed? Recipe results are not guaranteed when changes have been made.

Is this comment helpful to other readers? Rude or hateful comments will not be approved. Remember that this website is run by a real person.

Are you here to complain about ads? Please keep in mind that I develop these recipes and provide them to you for free. Advertising helps to defray my cost of doing so, and allows me to continue to post regular fresh content.

Thanks so much for your understanding! I appreciate you!