Cornish Pasty

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 lball-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 4 1/2 ozcold butter, diced
• 4 1/2 ozlard, diced, straight from the fridge
• 5/8 cupcold water
• 14 ozbeef skirt steak, cut into small dice, not ground
• 10 1/2 ozpotatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 7 ozrutabaga, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 1 tspsea salt
• 1 tspblack pepper, coarsely ground, and be generous
• 1egg, beaten, to glaze

Method

1. 1

   Rub the cold butter and the lard into the all-purpose flour with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs with some larger flakes left. Add the cold water and bring it together into a firm dough without kneading it.

2. 2

   Wrap the dough and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Warm pastry tears when you crimp it.

3. 3

   Slice the potatoes and the rutabaga as thinly as you can, dice the beef skirt small, and chop the onion. Toss it all together with the salt and a lot of black pepper. Nothing gets precooked.

4. 4

   Heat the oven to 400°F. Divide the dough into six, roll each into a circle about the size of a dinner plate, and pile a sixth of the filling onto one half, leaving a clear border. It will look like far too much. It is not.

5. 5

   Brush the border with a little beaten egg, fold the pastry over, and press the edges together. Then work along the seam folding a small section of the edge over on itself and pressing it down, making a rope. A crimped edge will not burst; a fork-pressed one usually does.

6. 6

   Sit them on a lined baking sheet, glaze all over with the rest of the egg, and cut one small steam vent in the top of each. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 330°F and bake for another 40 minutes until deep golden.

7. 7

   Leave them for at least ten minutes. The inside is molten and the gravy needs a moment to settle back into the filling instead of running out of the vent.