Winter settled into our area of the world (Pacific Northwest) and while the gray skies swirled my mind drifted to visits to Cornwall and our friends Gill and Des. They have homes in Gloucestershire and Cornwall England. Oh the adventures Gill and I had in Cornwall! Walking the ha penny hill, grabbing a pasty, strolling through the shops in town, enjoying a boat ride around the area, finishing an afternoon of adventure with a spot of tea in a local tearoom, and then joining the gents in the pub at the end the day.
Relishing these memories of visits to England, I decided to cook an English dish. A Cornish pasty was the goal.
According to Cornish Recipes cookbook (first published in 1929), paraphrased “a proper pasty is filled with potatoes, turnip, and a little meat and is considered a meal in itself. It was most convenient to take into the fields or down the tin mine for consumption at ‘croust’ time. Croust time is really “lunch time” but the actual time varied. The reason for this was that down in the tin mine, you couldn’t see the sun so you didn’t know the time at all.”
I knew from tasting a few pasties that they varied quite a bit according to what area of Cornwall we were visiting. However, the standard ingredients were meat and potatoes with vegetables and onions contained in a thick-heavy pastry.
Was I up to the task today? Well, as you will soon find out an American meat pie was the outcome. How did I end up making a meat pie? Well part of the reason is that I didn’t have a rutabaga (a common ingredient in pasties). Another is that I wanted to use a pre-made pie dough which would have been too delicate to use for a pasty.
So I guess you could define this recipe as my American version of a pasty baked in a pie.
Basic ingredients onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, peas, and jalapeno pepper.
I cheated with a pre-made pie dough.
Cooked ingredients ready to be put in the pie!
Meat pie ingredients spilling out of pastry..
Delicious results even if didn’t turn out to be a Cornish pasty!
While this meat pie is a good recipe, my cravings for a Cornwall pasty were not entirely satisfied. Since I can’t pop into a shop in Cornwall to buy a pasty, I will be making them someday soon, I promise! Stay tuned.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 jalapeno, diced small
- 1/3 cup carrot, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup white onion, chopped fine
- 3/4 cup potato, chunked bite-size
- 1/4 cup peas
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon chile powder
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Pinch of tomato flakes
- Pinch of dried cilantro
- Pre-made pie dough
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a pie plate with cooking oil. Lay pie dough in a round baking dish and press into place. Flute edges if desired.
- Brown the meat over medium heat in a large skillet. Add seasons (paprika, cumin, oregano, and chile) and combine.
- Stir in jalapeno, carrot, onion, potato, and garlic. Simmer all ingredients for about 6-8 minutes to enhance flavors and tenderize vegetables.
- Remove from heat and stir in Worcestershire.
- Spoon meat and vegetable mixture into prepared pie plate. Cover with pre-made pie dough.
- Cook in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
2 thoughts on “Cornish Pasty vs. Meat Pie”