Cornish Pasty #1: Made it myself in school!

19th century, Cornwall. 'Croust!' Unable to return from the deep grounds of the mine to the surface, the tin miners put down their equipment, their appetites roaring after hours of toil. Warm out of the oven, they tucked into their pasties, holding them by their crimped crusts. Their energy levels restored after lunch, they discarded the dirty edge to mollify the knockers while praying for their safety; then they headed back to work.

Cornish Pasties
(Not a giant curry puff haha)

We attended a cookery lesson with the Year 11s, where we learnt how to make Cornish pasties! The process was rather simple, actually. Okay we cheated with the pastry part because all we had to do was to chuck the butter, flour, water and salt into the Kenwood mixer. Then, we divided the pastry dough into four, rolled them into circles, and placed a mixture of cubed beef, potatoes, onion and turnip on one side, as well as a knob of butter. Fold the other half over, crimp the side and brush them with egg wash... they'll be ready after about 50 minutes in the oven.

We left our pasties in the oven under the care of the cookery teacher and collected them during lunch. They were rather large...

FYI, for those who want to make a size comparison: My hands aren't small.

I was the only girl who managed to finish mine. They're so filling, it's no wonder they were the staple food of tin miners. The school's vice-principal joked that if any one of us could finish two pasties, we would get a prize...

Another pasty :O

Unfortunately my first impression of the Cornish pasty did not ring 'delicious'. The one I had was only slightly moistened in the interior, and had scarcely any gravy needed to complement the cooked cubes of meat and veggies. In fact, they were just like pastry crusts filled with a savory filling. The crumbly crust was also slightly dry. But no doubt, pasties would have made a nutritious meal for the miners.

Nah, I don't think these are how Cornish pasties are supposed to be like. While making them was really easy, I suppose baking up a good pasty will require more skill. Stay tuned for the next installment about pasties...