All Things Cornish: Cornish Pasty (Veggie)

I am not someone who likes to be seasonally correct in terms of cooking. I just listen to my stomach and my mood. Past few weeks for some weird reason has been a sort of madness revolving around all things Cornish! How corny is that? I mean, 'S' & I have been trying all makes of Cornish ice-creams all week and after 6 7 tubs of ice-cream we seem to have found the one that pleases our taste buds; we are now hunting for the perfect Cornish pasty. Although, I have made them at home several times, so far the one that we like (apart from mine) is from this tiny van (The West Cornwall Pasty).

 

I guess even the weather gods have such moody days…One day he blesses us with rich sunniness & radiant blue skies and the next its wind, chill & grey skies with downpour that has no plans to stop. This afternoon, I sat near the window watching rain pour & splash against the chilly winds and enjoyed the tiny droplets hitting my face. I instantly knew my body needed something warm and cheesy from the oven. I quickly whizzed the short crust pastry in my processor and a hour later rustic looking Veggie Cornish Pasty emerged out of the oven…Sun was shining again!

Cornish Pasty (Veggie)

Ingredients

For the Shortcrust Pastry

Flour - 450g

Butter - 175g

Vegetable Fat like Trex - 25g

Salt

Ice cold Water - 6-8 tbsp

For the Filling

Potato -1 peeled & cut into 1cm dice

Onion - 1 peeled & cut into 1cm dice

Swede - 1/4 peeled & cut into 1cm dice

Quorn Mince - 100g-2200g

Cornflour - 1 tbsp

Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Method:

Make the pastry first - dump the flour, butter, trex & salt into the processor and pulse till the mixture resembles bread-crumbs. Pour the water and pulse until it comes together. Turn onto a floured work surface and knead gently to bring together then wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat oven to 180C. Meanwhile, toss the veggies with the corn flour & season well. Divide the pastry into 4 equal pieces and roll each one out on a lightly floured work surface, rolling in one direction. Give the pastry a quarter-turn, and then roll it again to form a round, about 20cm in diameter & the thickness of a £1 coin. Arrange the filling onto the centre of the rolled out pastry, top with cheese and lightly brush the edge of the pastry with water then carefully bring up the edges to the centre to cover the filling. Pinch or crimp so that the filling is sealed. Brush the pasties with egg wash and bake for about 45-60min or until the pastry is golden. Serve hot.

Tip: I usually have a chilled bag of flour for making pastry and I use chilled butter.