cornish cowboy pasties

servings
8

method

Marcy Tatarka, an absolutely lovely cook I met in Wyoming, was full of all sorts of local food knowledge. She told me that people in this part of America are really into their pasties! Turns out that in the 1920s and 30s, miners from Cornwall came over to work in Montana and it wasn’t long before the locals developed a taste for the good old Cornish pasty. Their recipes haven’t evolved radically since, but they do embrace local ingredients like chicken, squash and sage. Pastry isn’t exactly health food, but a delicious pasty once in a while won’t hurt you. If you like, you can make a slightly ‘skinnier’ pasty by reducing the butter to 200g and adding 50ml of olive oil. But frankly, if I’m making these I just go for it old-school style.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ gas 4. Bring your butter and water to the boil in a large pan, then take the pan off the heat. Stir the flour and salt into the mixture bit by bit with a spatula, until you’ve got a dough. Tip it on to a floured surface and use your hands to shape it into a smooth ball. Put the ball of dough into a floured bowl, dust the top with flour, then cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes while you make the filling.

Meanwhile, get a large pan and fry your chopped onion in a lug of olive oil for 10 minutes or until softened. Add the diced chicken and fry for 5 minutes until brown, then add the rest of the chopped vegetables and herbs. Fry for another 5 minutes, then add 3 or 4 good gratings of nutmeg. Season well with salt and pepper, then pour in the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the flour and simmer on a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until most of the stock has cooked away and you’re left with nice thick gravy.

Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour, then divide your pastry dough in half and roll each half out until it’s slightly thinner than 0.5cm. Use a cereal bowl (about 15cm in diameter) to cut 4 circles out of each half, so you end up with 8 circles. You may need to cut out 2 or 3 circles from each half first, then re-roll the remaining pastry to make the rest. Dust the circles with flour, and spoon your filling into the middle of each one. Brush the edges of the pastry with some of the beaten egg, then fold each circle in half over the filling and crimp the edges with your finger and thumb to seal them. If you want to see how this is done, check out this video on how to assemble a pasty.

Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper, scatter a handful of cornmeal or polenta over the paper, and place your pasties on top. Brush the pasties all over with more of the beaten egg and sprinkle over a little more cornmeal. Bake in the hot oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden, and serve straight away with a fresh green salad. A taste of Cornwall in the Wild West – who’d have thought it!

Wine suggestion:
Italian red – a Barbera d’Alba

Find out more about Jamie’s American Road Trip tv show and Jamie’s America Book

ingredients

For the pastry:
• 250g butter
• 300ml hot water
• 500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic, beaten
• a handful of medium ground cornmeal or polenta

For the filling:
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, preferably free-range or organic, cut into 2cm dice
• ½ a small butternut squash (approx• 250g), peeled and cut into 1cm chunks
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks
• 6 sprigs fresh sage or thyme, leaves picked and chopped
• nutmeg
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 300ml chicken stock, preferably organic
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon plain flour

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1. by Cornish Nan on Tue 24 Jan 2012 @ 17:51

How to make a Cornish pasty and the pastry. Click here to view Cornish Nan's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl0U3kwGBt0

2. by DIANE on Thu 24 Nov 2011 @ 15:32

CHICKEN PASTIES

3. by Veronica Erwin Oss on Sun 09 Oct 2011 @ 22:42

These were wonderful. I did everything except put the corn meal on them. I've made beef ones before with the traditional pie crust recipe. So I was skeptical using this technique. It was beautiful! Rolled out well, backed well, great texture. I did the egg wash too. Fantastic. I don't know if I'll make them with the other crust again. This means made them so much more portable. I would think this is how they were originally made. They weren't as frail as the pie crust ones. My husband is from Upper Peninsula of Michigan (a Yooper). He LOVES pasties. Grew up eating them. He loves the ones I make from the pie crust recipes so wasn't sure if he'd like this. He loved it. So, I would highly recommend this. He even liked the chicken and squash filling. And do the egg wash. It makes it. I will do the crust again and fill with custard or maybe fruit. And I would make the chicken and squash again as well. Thanks Jamie!! -With love from Indianapolis

4. by Chloe on Sun 31 Jul 2011 @ 04:51

I made these yesterday and they were absolutely delicious! I made a few changes based on my needs: first, I made these for my brother who is a farmer and in the words of Jamie: "It's gotta be beef!" So yes, I substituted the chicken for beef. I used about 2 1/4 pounds of rump roast. So with the meat, potatoes, and lovely gravy that results in the filling, it was definitely hardy enough for my hard working brother. Second, instead of cornmeal sprinkled on the baking pan, I used seasoned salt just for the flavor and because my brother loves the stuff. Also, I did get 8 pasties out of the dough but I had enough filling left over for another batch. So I made another batch of just pastry and used up the rest of the filling the next day. All in all, this dish was proper and hardy and fit for a cowboy! Delicious - thanks Jamie!!

5. by DanielHarragon on Wed 10 Feb 2010 @ 06:33

This is going to be a great recipe i love pastie's but exspecilly when there good qulity one's! and made your self. im going to make this

6. by Stephania Buttigieg on Thu 17 Dec 2009 @ 18:48

These look lovely and it would be great to make 8 at a go and freeze half. One thing I didn't get. Do you freeze them ready cooked? Are they then reheated in the oven for 30 mins from frozen? What about microwave? Thanks All the best for the forthcoming festivities.

7. by simon tyzzer on Tue 06 Oct 2009 @ 14:21

the cornish cowboy pasties sounds great but i just the recipie from last years christmas chicken dish can anyone help me with the that recipie

8. by AJ on Sat 03 Oct 2009 @ 16:57

You sure that's a tablespoon of salt? Seems a tad......salty....?????

9. by lovesfood on Tue 29 Sep 2009 @ 11:20

The filling was absolutely lovely, but the pastry just did not turn out right for me, despite trying twice! I dont know why, I used the exact measurements, but there just seemed to be to much butter so could not roll it.

10. by ha ha ha ha on Mon 28 Sep 2009 @ 23:15

American miner's pasties... like american pizza... etc.

The Cornish pasty is from the Tin and coal mines of Cornwall.

11. by M-J de Mesterton on Wed 23 Sep 2009 @ 16:22

All pasties freeze well. Some people wrap them in aluminum foil to freeze. I make individual envelopes with waxed paper and an iron to seal the edges, put one pasty in each, and then slip three or four into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Surprisingly, when made with the classic short-crust pastry (using butter and lard), frozen pasties come out fine re-heated in the microwave for a couple of minutes, but even better when reheated in a medium-hot oven for thirty minutes. I agree with Jamie; a cereal bowl (or a dessert plate) for sizing the crust is ideal. A typical American miner's pasty contains beef, potatoes, onions, carrots and/or rutabagas, all diced finely; the ingredients go into the dough raw. (Chicken, sage and squash sound divine.) Another pasty-making tip: instead of laying the seam side flat, you could leave it at the top like a purse. That way, your pasty is less-likely to leak through the crimped edge while baking. Thanks for this inspiring slice of life, Jamie. We'll be in Wyoming soon; willl ask about local pasty-making. See you on the Green Chronicle, where I found this link.

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