The Nation's Favourite Pie

Well, I'm not sure if this is entirely true but it's certainly one of mine! This week is British Pie Week and I decided to make one of our household favourites - the Cornish pasty. The recipe below is a traditional pie but there's nothing stopping you from playing around with flavour combinations and also making a vegetarian version if you prefer.

For this recipe you will need two lined baking trays and a rolling pin.

Pre-heat your oven to 150ºC Fan.

Ingredients:

For the pastry

500g Strong White Bread Flour

120g White Shortening (Vegetable fat or Lard)(at room temperature)

5g Salt

25g Butter

175ml Cold Water

1 Egg beaten with a pinch of Salt

For the filling

350g Beef (Skirt, Rump, Braising Steak - make sure it is good quality meat)

350g Waxy Potatoes

200g Swede

175g Onions

Seasoning

Knob of Butter

How I make my Cornish pasties:

1. First, make the pastry. Put the flour, shortening, salt, butter and water into a bowl. Use a spoon to gently combine the ingredients, then use your hands to crush everything together.

2. The dough will seem very dry at first but do not be tempted to add more water. Instead, tip the contents of the bowl onto a clean, flat surface and work the dough with the heal of your hand, stretching and rolling until it all comes together. This process will take c. 5 to 10 minutes. You will know when it is ready when the dough is smooth and glossy. Be rough with the dough - put pressure on it and work it vigorously.

3. When ready, wrap in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.

4. Next, make the filling. Peel and cut the potatoes, swede and onion into 1cm cubes. Chop the beef into similar sized chunks. Put all of the mixture into a bowl, season and mix well.

5. Pre-heat your oven to 150ºC Fan.

6. When your dough has rested, cut it into four equal chunks. Shape each piece into a ball and, using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a disk the size of a dinner plate (c.25cm).

7. Spoon a quarter of the filling onto one half of each disk. Place a knob of butter on top of the filling.

8. Fold the empty side of the pastry over the filling and seal the sides well - use an egg wash to seal the inside edges and then use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edge.

9. Put the pasties onto baking trays and brush with the egg/salt mixture.

10. Bake for c. 45 minutes or until the pasties are brown.

11. Goes really well with a cup of tea!