Perfect Pasties

As I was making the kids sandwiches, yet again, for their school lunch-boxes, I thought how nice it would be to be able to give them something different for a change. A home-made Cornish pasty sprang to mind.  What a great way of using up vegetables and nourishing the kids at the same time. 

Cornish pasties date back to the 13th Century, during the reign of Henry III. They were eaten by poorer working families who could only afford cheap ingredients such as potatoes, swede and onion. Meat was added later. Miners and farm workers took this portable and easy to eat convenience food with them to work because it was so well suited to the purpose. Its size and shape made it easy to carry, its pastry case insulated the contents and was durable enough to survive, while its wholesome ingredients provided enough sustenance to see the workers through their long and arduous working days. The crust (crimped edge) was used as a handle which was then discarded due to the high levels of arsenic in many of the tin mines.  Luckily, now a days we can eat all the pastry but the classic mix of beef, swede, onion and potato is set in stone and it would be considered sacrilege to modify these ingredients in any way.  

But your pasty does not have to be Cornish.  In fact it could come from almost anywhere and contain whatever you like or have to hand.  It is a fabulous way of using up left over root vegetables which always are in abundance throughout the winter months. Carrots, celeriac, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes and squashes all work fantastically well.  It could be meat free but it certainly makes a little meat go a long way. Just remember whatever you put in your pasty, it must be cut pretty small and must all cook in the same time. Because the ingredients go in raw, unlike most pies the filling must cook before the pastry burns.  But fear not. As long as the pieces in your filling are never any larger than about 1cm, it always somehow seems to work. 

My next top tip for busy cooks, is ready made, ready rolled shortcrust pasty.  The supermarkets have really got their acts together on the pastry front and you can find a good selection of all-butter pastries in the chilled or freezer section.  Check the ingredients and make sure that they contain little more than butter and flour and you can guarantee that they will be good.  

Last of all I recommend that you make up a large batch because they disappear really fast. They freeze brilliantly - I wasn't expecting you to get up a 5.00am and make them from scratch each morning for the kids lunch-box. I freeze them, uncooked and simply put them in the oven first thing in the morning and they are ready to go about 45 minutes later. Then straight in the lunch-box and they might even be still be warm by lunch time.  What better way to sustain your little miners.

Cornish Pasties

400g/14oz good-quality beef skirt or rump steak (very lean, no fat or gristle.)
200g/7oz waxy potatoes such as Charlotte (I didn't even peel mine.)
200g/7oz swede 
175g/6oz onions
salt and freshly ground black pepper
knob of butter
Ready rolled all-butter shortcrust pasty
1 egg, lightly whisked
Chop the potatoes into cubes, no bigger than 1 cms.  Peel the sweed and do the same.  Trim any fat or gristle from the meat and cut into small cubes, about 1cm.  Chop the onion fairly finely and mix together with the other ingredients and plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lightly grease a baking tray with butter or line with baking or silicone paper. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. (If baking from frozen then 160C.) Cut your pasty in to discs roughly 15cms wide.  I use a small bowl to cut round. Spoon some mixture into the middle of each disk and top with a knob of butter. Then bring the pastry around and crimp together.  I find the ready rolled pastry stick fine. Do not get the pastry wet or that will stop is sealing. A genuine Cornish pasty has a distinctive ‘D’ shape and is crimped on one side, never on top but I like mine the other way.  It is up to you. Just make sure it is well sealed and has plenty of filling. Put the pasties onto the baking tray and brush the top of each pasty with the egg. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the pasties are golden-brown. (If baking from frozen allow up to 45 minutes.) 

Use your Veg

Sorry I have been away so long from my blog.  I am shocked to say it has been 5 months since my last post. Not that I should think many people noticed, but an increase in work-load and kids on school holidays over the summer, meant that demands on my time was so great, that hobbies such as blogging, were seriously neglected.  And once out of the routine and the more time that went by, writing my next post became a rather daunting prospect. I really began to feel quite apprehensive about it. Enough was enough - I knew that the time had come to battle my demons and just get on with it. 

What is more, I have another even more frightening event looming - some proposed cookery lessons, that I am organising in association with Riverford Organic Farms. These will focus on helping people make the most of their veg boxes each week and use up everything as deliciously and easily as possible. I really do know that it can be a challenge having a veg box and all too many people give them up. Thinking up new recipes, organising yourself and making the time to cook is hard and so, I have been really intent on devising the easiest, quickest, everyday recipes.  

There is always one or two ingredients left at the end of the week, which I insist on using before my next box arrives and this week it was some humble shallots. What is so great about being forced to use up leftovers is that this is exactly how new ideas and collaborations often occur, not always successfully but sometimes a triumph.  And this Shallot Tarte Tatin took no time at all. With only the addition of some balsamic vinegar from the cupboard and some ready rolled puff pasty from the freezer it made a fantastic quick supper but would have been impressive enough to serve for a party. It is so rich, almost meaty and really does not need any accompaniment apart from a nice crisp salad. Ever since discovering excellent ready made all butter puff pasty in the supermarkets I have been cooking endless variations of Tarte Tatin based on the classic Apple Tarte Tatin created by the Tatin sisters, which incidentally works wonderfully well with pears too, both fruits that are so in season right now. (Recipes to follow shortly).




Shallot Tarte Tatin
Make sure you have enough shallots to fill your pan.  They will shrink during cooking.
50g butter
500g shallots, peeled
1/2 cup  really good quality balsamic vinegar
small bunch of thyme, wrapped tightly in an elastic band
a sheet ready rolled all-butter puff pastry

Heat the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan that the shallots will fit in an even layer. Add the shallots and cook over a medium heat until they start to brown. Add the balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of salt, some freshly ground black pepper and enough water to cover. Add the thyme and poach the shallots until until they are completely cooked through. Add more water if necessary. They must be completely soft. Then reduce until the balsamic becomes syrupy. Check seasoning. Tip into a heavy, oven safe, metal frying pan. Spread out into a flat layer.

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cut a circle a little larger than the pan then lay it over the shallots and tuck down the sides. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is puffed, golden and crisp. Invert onto a large flat plate, cut into wedges and serve warm. 

Another vegetable, or fruit actually, that I seem to have a glut of at the moment is tomatoes. With our terrible start to summer this year my crop, which I had hoped to keep me supplied throughout the summer, are only just beginning to ripen now. Most I fear will end up as Green Tomato Chutney but fortunately I had enough to make this Cherry Tomato Tatin. 

So, two great recipes for using up your veg which can be put together in no time at all and lots more ideas to come over the next few weeks!

Cherry Tomato Tarte Tatin

It is important to reduce some of the liquid from the tomatoes otherwise your Tatin will be soggy.  The juices from the tomatoes should combine with the balsamic vinegar to make a delicious sauce. The tomatoes will shrink a lot so make sure you have enough.

50g butter
Enough cherry tomatoes to completely cover the bottom of your frying-pan
1/2 cup  really good quality balsamic vinegar
small bunch of basil
a sheet ready rolled all-butter puff pastry

Heat the butter in a heavy bottomed, all metal frying-pan and add the tomatoes, a little salt, freshly ground black pepper and the balsamic.  Cook over a gentle flame until the tomatoes begin to release their juices.  Shake the pan to amalgamate the liquids and continue to cook until the balsamic becomes syrupy. Check seasoning. Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil.

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cut a circle a little larger than the pan then lay it over the tomatoes and tuck down the sides. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is puffed, golden and crisp. Invert onto a large flat plate, cut into wedges and serve warm. 

Waste not ........

It's half-term again and what with horrible cold weather, two fairly ill children (a lot of coughing, especially at night), we are completely broke as usual and the fact that I have no car (Hugh needs it for work), my prospects are looking fairly grim. We need something cheap, fun and entertaining to keep the kids happy. Cooking of course!  Our first venture was sausage rolls.  Primarily because it is one of the few things that my daughter, Amelie, happily eats.  However she is customarily fussy, even about them.  Usual complaints vary from too gristly (often valid); too peppery (her delicate pallet can be a little over-sensitive but even so, she may often have a case); there is some minuscule speck of green in them (down-right picky).  So as a treat I thought we would make them just the way she likes them.  Organic, out-door bread pork mince, not too fatty, no gristle, no seasoning at all, apart from her beloved salt, but not too much and absolutely no herbs. We used ready rolled good quality, all butter puff and in a matter of minutes we had a fabulous hot little snack for lunch.  

I had a little pastry left so we made some pig's ears or to use the more official name Palmiers for tea. Considering how quick and simple the whole procedure was, it was as always, remarkable quite how much clearing up there was to be done afterwards. Still, I felt after this impressive achievement of spending quality time with the kids that I was justified in sitting them in front of a DVD for the next two hours. Well, it was raining!  

Which after extensive clearing up still left me with about an hour spare.  I decided to knock up a couple of scotch eggs which I thought we could have with some salad for dinner.  First of all I seasoned up the pork mix with lots of freshly ground black pepper and a little mace and wrapped it around a couple of soft boiled eggs, which I then panned and deep-fried.  So, lunch, tea and dinner all sorted from half a pound of mince, a few eggs and a packet of puff pastry. And it is a good way of using up old bread.  Pretty economising, even for me!

Sausage Rolls
Add whatever extra flavouring you like to the pork; herbs such as thyme, sage or parsley, mace, nutmeg, lemon zest etc. 
I packet of good quality all butter puff pasty
2 eggs (one for filling and one for egg-wash)
150g outdoor bread pork mince
Couple of handfulls of freshly made breadcrumbs

Put the meat into a large bowl and mix well with your hands. Add a few handfuls of breadcumbs and one of the beaten eggs and seasoning well with black pepper and a little salt.  Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about a thickness of about ½ cm, and cut into 3 lengthways. Divide the meat into little sausages, as long as your pastry, and roll each one up allowing an overlap.  Paint this with egg-wash before sealing. Slash the top with a knife and brush the outside with more egg-wash. Repeat with the rest of the pastry and meat.  Put the rolls on a baking tray, and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack, and serve warm.

Palmiers
You can flavour these with all sorts of different sugars such as cinnamon, vanilla, cardomon or nutmeg.  Alternatively you could make a savoury variety with parmesan cheese and a little cayenne and decorate with poppy seeds.
Sugar
Puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle. Paint lightly with egg-wash. Sprinkle with lots of sugar (and spices if using) over the dough. Roll up the left vertical side inward, stopping in the middle of the dough. Roll up the right side of the dough. The two rolls should be meeting at the middle and touching. Press the two sides together gently. Starting at one end, cut off pieces of the log, in slices about 1/2 inch in thickness. Lightly sprinkle sugar onto each side. Pinch and press the sides of the two rolls together to ensure that they don't unroll during baking. Place on large parchment lined baking sheets or non-stick tray. They will increase size a little, so leave plenty of room between each. Set the tray in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the sugar has caramelized. Turn if necessary. Allow them to cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

Soft-boiled Scotch Eggs
Add whatever extra flavouring you like to the pork; herbs such as thyme, sage or parsley, mace, nutmeg, lemon zest etc. 
2 large free-range eggs
150g outdoor bread pork
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Couple of handfuls plain flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 free-range egg, beaten (some for the mix and some to pane)
Few handfuls of breadcrumbs (some for the mix and some to pane)
Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Place the eggs, still in their shells, in a large pan of boiling water over a medium heat keep at a gentle rolling boil for exactly five minutes. Drain and cool the eggs immediately under cold running water, then peel. Mix the pork with a few handfuls of breadcrumbs, one of the beaten eggs and some salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Wrap the pork around each egg. Make sure the coating is smooth and completely covers each egg. You want it to be about 1/2 to 3/4 cms thick but It should not be thicker than 1cms or it will not cook. Dip each coated egg in the flour, then the remaining beaten egg, rolling to coat completely, then dip and roll into the breadcrumbs to completely cover.

Heat the oil in a deep heavy-bottomed pan and using a thermometer, heat until about 170 Degrees. Carefully place each scotch egg into the hot oil and deep-fry for at least 10 minutes, turning frequently, until golden and crisp and the sausage meat is completely cooked. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Carefully remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve cool. I like mine with HP sauce.  Class!