The Pasty

Let me say a word about the pasty.  I know that in the world of cuisine England has not been held up as a great leader, I think it’s fair to say, and the poor pasty has been much maligned. I however, am a big fan. The pasty was always a big part of our visits to Devon and we took advantage of their availability by having one on almost a daily basis.Well, maybe not quite, but I would have been happy if we did!  For me, as a vegetarian, it’s the Cheese and Onion Pasty, and I think it’s the perfect comfort food.

I made some pasties last night and a few more (with the left-overs) this morning. I was just going to share the link to the recipe I used but then realized that I used bits and piece of different recipes, so I’ll try to sketch it out here. It made 6 large pasties.

CHEESE AND ONION PASTIES

Short Crust Pastry

3 cups flour

6 oz butter, room temperature (you can use lard and butter if you want, but I only ever have butter in the house)

1 tsp salt

little bit of water

Make the pastry. I followed these instructions. Allow to chill for 30 minutes. Pre-heat over to 400 F.

Filling

Mix the following together:

3 medium potatoes, cut into very small pieces

1 large onion or two small, cut very small

grated cheddar cheese – I can’t tell you how much but just add as much as you want/have.

salt and pepper

Assembly

Divide the dough into 6 pieces. On a floured surface, roll out one piece of dough and use a saucer to cut a perfect circle (Mine was about 7 inches). Place some of the filling on one side of the pastry. You will get a hang on how much to use. You don’t want to over-fill or it will be difficult to close.

Dip your finger in water and run it round the edge of the pastry, and then fold over and seal by pressing with a fork. Then fold over the sealed edge like this.

Place the finished pasty on a floured baking sheet. Cut two small steam holes in the top and brush with milk.

Finish making the rest of the pasties and bake for 40 – 45 minutes. You can use any left over pastry and filling to make mini pasties, just don’t bake them as long, obviously.

Enjoy!

Freesias

My grandmother passed away at the beginning of June. Fortunately, it was not altogether unexpected, so my mother was able to make the trip from Canada to England to be with her. When my mum asked me if there was anything from my granny’s house I would like her to bring back to remind me of her, I thought of this painting.

It hung on the wall in the spare room, and I always  liked it. On my last visit I commented on it and asked Granny where it came from. Apparently it was painted for her by her friend Ningo (sp?) Woodford, who lived round the corner. The flowers are freesias, my grandmother’s favourite. I wish now that I had taken notes, because I remember the conversation leading on to some interesting stories. At any rate, I’m going to see what I can piece together and write a little note that I will include behind the painting when it is framed, for the record! Speaking of framing, I think I might try to make one, but we shall see. It certainly deserves a good frame and I’m not exactly and expert!

I am very happy to have this painting. I think it’s perfect –  it will remind me of my grandmother, her favourite flowers, and the talks we had on our last visit.