Pastie or pasty same thing....

I decided to make pasties the other day, as I was feeling for something light and easy to make for supper. For the recipe you most certainly can use store bought pastry, but if you want to know exactly what is in your pastry then it is worth making it from scratch and it really isn't as hard as you think. 

On the day I made lamb and veggie pasties. I used the same base for both mixtures, the one just has veg and the other had lamb added to it. Traditionally you are meant to fill the pasty with raw ingredients seal it and let it cook in the oven for 45 - 50 minutes. But, because there is waiting time between making the pastry and actually using it to form the pasties, I decided to cook the ingredients and cut down the cooking time.

Ingredients:- 

For the filling

500g Lamb mince and or veggies 

1 Brown Onion, chopped

1 TBLS crushed garlic

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Black pepper

1/2 a tin of 250ml Cream

1 egg to make an egg wash

For the pastry

1 Egg Chilled

125 g unsalted butter finely chopped

250g Plain Flour 

Pinch of Salt

Method: - 

For the Pastry 

Mix the Flour, butter and salt together until breadcrumbs are formed. Whisk the egg with about a TBLS of water and then add to the flour. Mix together until a dough is formed. You can use a processor to make this abit easier. Once the dough is formed knead the dough, cover in clingfilm and refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight. 

For the Filling

Place a pot onto a medium heat, a dash of olive oil and chopped brown onion. Add the garlic and black pepper and let this cook for approximately 5 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the veggies or the lamb and mix in salt. Let this cook until the water has cooked off and add the cream. You really don't want your mix to be too creamy as this will cause the pastry to become really soft and break. So once your mix has thickened with the cream take it off the heat and allow to cool before forming your pasties.  

When you are ready to form the pasties, cut the dough into rounds using a cereal bowl and fill half the pastry with your veggies or lamb and seal the ends using an egg wash. Crimp the edges together using your fingers to seal off any openings to prevent the filling from leaking out. Use the egg wash on top of your pastry and place into a 190 degree oven for about 20 - 25 minutes until your pastie appears golden and brown. Serve with some freshly made green salad and tomato sauce.