Pasty gate – hints and tips

It may seem a bit of a faff but I'd recommend weighing both your pastry and your filling, you don't have to be obsessive about it – an “ish” will do.

As a guide you'll have 1lb 13oz or 840g of pastry – divide into four weighing approximately 7oz ish/210g each. Place each portion on a sheet of cling film, gather and wrap, moulding into a ball shape. Bag all four and fridge.

Treat your filling in the same way. It's much easier to deal with the filling when it has cooled – it won't interfere with your pastry and you won't scald your hands! You should have 1.346g of filling, divide into four portions of 11½oz ish/ 336g each, cling film and mould in the same way as the pastry.

Here's a couple of photos :

By weighing, wrapping and moulding your pasties are of a similar size so no arguments!

Now for assembly and crimping.

Pasty gate … the filling

Cheese, potato and onion pie filling

gives generous filling enough

for four large pasties

700g of Maris Piper (or similar variety)

potatoes, boiled and then mashed

2 medium onions, finely diced and

sautéed with a knob of unsalted butter and

a drop of rapeseed oil until softened – 5 minutes

2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard

150g of Mature Cheddar cheese, grated

75g each of Red Leicester and Gruyere cheese, grated

Black pepper

1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Baking sheet, lined with baking parchment

Boil the potatoes until cooked – test by using a paring knife which will pass through easily. Drain and then mash roughly, add the Mature Cheddar cheese, mustard and black pepper. Add the sautéed onion and remaining grated cheese, mix well. Set aside to cool.

The advantage of using a rough mash and adding the cheddar cheese before the onion and remaining cheeses gives you a stiff filling and one that is easy to control which is essential when assembling and completing your pasty. You are able to mould the filling easily – it remains firm and doesn't spill all over your worktop.

Just in case you might be tempted – do not add any “liquid” i.e. milk or an egg – to the mash, it needs to be firm, adding liquid will turn your filling into mush!

Be patient, it's important to let the filling cool completely, you'll be pleased with the result.

Next up – hints and tips for the pastry and the filling.

Back to the back catalogue – the pasty test!

Moving on from “pasty gate” it's my turn to put my pastry and filling where my mouth is.

Let the test begin!

Here's the basic pastry recipe :

Pasty pastry

This recipe will give you four eight inch (20cms) pasties

450g/1lb strong white bread flour

large pinch of salt

100g/4oz of margarine (or unsalted butter)

100g/4oz lard (or Trex or Cookeen)

175ml/3^rd pint water

cling film

Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add 25g/1oz of lard and rub into the flour. Grate or slice the rest of the fats into the bowl and stir, using a round bladed knife. Pour all the water into the bowl and mix together with the knife. Keep the dough in the bowl and using your hand bring the dough together and knead using the heel of your hand. Tip the dough onto a sheet of cling film and use the film to bring the dough together in a fat circle. Wrap the dough twice in cling film, bag and fridge. Chill it for at least 30 minutes.

You don't have to use lard, for me and other vegetarians out there, use either Trex or Cookeen. The lard is part of the original recipe. I used unsalted butter instead of the margarine.

For those who are used to making pastry, no matter how basic, this will seem an odd method. I promise you it works. Not only does it work I'd say it's the best result I've ever had.

For example, it doesn't matter if you fridge it to chill for 30 minutes and, surprise surprise, you get distracted and remember two hours later. It does not affect the end result.

You can freeze the pastry if you want to make ahead. Take the frozen pastry out of the freezer the night before required and fridge it. It behaves impeccably – just as if freshly made.

If you'd like some help there's a photo guide on the blog – see Cornish Pasty Pastry guide link.

Then there's the filling ...

x

Back to the back catalogue … pasties

Before the damson diversion I was talking about portable/picnic food. I can't believe it's nearly September and with the unreliable weather and Autumn approaching so the opportunities for picnics and al fresco dining diminishes.

What comes next is from the back catalogue and was to be part of the portable/picnic food, fortunately it qualifies on many other levels and so ticks several boxes.

My favourite savoury guilty “take away” pleasure is a pasty and it has to be cheese, potato and onion. During lockdown the “takeaway treat” became known as a “make at home treat”!

Imagine my joy on discovering an M&S version of said treat – here's a photo :

They looked so tempting I couldn't resist. The filling wasn't generous and the tiny pieces of potato were undercooked. It may be that I was unlucky and got a “Friday afternoon pasty”.

I thought they looked very much like Cornish pasties. However Cornish are made with specific pasty pastry – puff pastry didn't work – when you got towards the crimped edge the pastry was rock solid with little or no filling – to be specific over 2cms/¾”.

Have a look :

It's rare for me to criticise M&S, believing their products to be a cut above and not objecting to paying over and above other similar versions available. In fairness I should have taken them back but with the present situation being as it is I didn't think that was particularly sensible. I've no doubt I'd have been given a replacement sadly if you'd had to go to the bother of returning you've definitely lost the thrill of a treat.

There's confusion with this pasty – it is clearly intended to be a variation on a theme of the Cornish classic which, for the reasons explained, didn't hit the spot for me. It's time to put this to the test – a marriage of pasty pastry with a cheese, potato and onion filling.

Fingers crossed!

A gin update and the final figures!

As the recipe for the damson gin said, shake every day for a week. Day 4 through to day 7 the colour becomes darker and cloudier as the sugar, fruit and alcohol does their thing!

The stash has now been “put to bed” in the cool, dark garage.

Watch this space - later on in the year it will be filtered and then left to settle in time for the Christmas holidays.

Finally the damson harvest figures … I knew it was going to be a good year but this was beyond anything I'd had in previous years. Indeed for the last couple it had been sparse and hardly worth harvesting at all.

I'm glad that I decided to keep a check on how many kilos of fruit I picked. It made sense to bag it in kilos – it made life easier whichever recipe I chose. Thank goodness I have like minded friends who were delighted to receive a small gift – the total came to 28kgs! That total does not include windfalls - I could not keep pace since the weather took over and storms and strong winds won – it would have been more.

I now have a stash of jam, ready to deliver when I can. A freezer full of roasted damsons to use as the mood takes and a supply of Asian plum sauce for stir fries too.

I love it when a plan comes together!

The final back catalogue – the Harvest Pudding photo guide

Here's a step by step guide :

the basin lined with cling film, then

lined with cake and filled with the roasted

damsons – looking good

the pudding topped with cake and wrapped

up in the cling film – you can see the syrup at

the base of the basin, just as it goes into the fridge

24 hours later – see how the fruit syrup has

absorbed into the cake

the Harvest Pudding inverted and ready

to cut

even with the first slice cut the pudding

keeps its shape

Verdict? Silence is the best comment. By the way I reserved a small jug of syrup to drizzle over the pudding. Serve with clotted or double cream and/or ice cream – whichever is your pleasure!

Next up – a gin update and the final figures.

The final back catalogue damson recipe …

The pleasure of roasting and freezing your treasure trove of roasted damsons now comes into its own.

There are recipes on the blog for a traditional Summer Pudding and an Autumn version too.

This is another great way of using the fruit either freshly roasted or from your freezer. As a guide 1kg of roasted damsons will give you 870g of fruit and delicious syrup – perfect for a roasted damson or harvest pudding - “harvest” sounds appropriate.

Harvest Pudding

Equipment

1 litre (1¾ pint) basin

plain sided cutter slightly larger than the

base of the basin – measuring 6cms in diameter

cling film and a drop of vegetable oil to wipe

the basin

Ingredients

870g of freshly roasted damsons or from your

freezer stash – defrosted

Madeira cake

I use inexpensive supermarket own brand cake

weights vary – you'll need approximately 10 slices of cake

I'd err on the side of caution and use two cakes if they weigh

265g – the cake should be sliced lengthways into quarter

inch slices and neatened at the edges

Wipe the basin with a drop of vegetable oil – use a sheet of kitchen roll, then line the basin with the cling film, ensuring that it overlaps the basin.

Cut out a circle of cake for the base and place it in the bottom of the basin. Line the rest of the basin with sliced Madeira cake, overlapping the cake which will give you a great looking pudding when turned out.

Spoon the roasted damsons into the cake lined bowl. Top with slices of cake to cover completely. Fold the cling film over the pudding to seal.

Place a slightly smaller plate or saucer on top of the basin and weigh down with a jar. Fridge it for 12-24 hours.

To serve, remove the jar and plate, unwrap the cling film and cover the basin with a large plate or bowl. Invert the pudding and peel off the cling film.

Photo guide up next!