Cornish pasty recipes have always been controversial, and now there’s an EU Protected Geographical Indication status to content with as well. Better get it right for St Piran’s Day on March 5th. I support the top crimped pasty myself, currently outlawed, but not the Cornish Vegetarian Pasty which is a contradiction in terms.
This article titled “The ultimate Cornish pasty recipe” was written by Felicity Cloake, for The Guardian on Wednesday 23rd February 2011 19.59 UTC Now the Cornish pasty finally has its legal protection from the pretenders across the water (that’s Devon), you’d think there wasn’t much debate as to how to make the things; even the position of the crimping is firmly enshrined in EU law (down the side, never at the top, if you’re wondering). But much is still up for debate. For a start, the ruling is puzzlingly vague on the subject of pastry: it must be golden, savoury, and robust, but as long as it fulfils those criteria, it could be anything from filo to flaky. In practice, a pasty is always made with shortcrust, the simplest sort, and, romantics allege, the only one hardy enough to survive being dropped down a mine shaft – although who’d want to eat it afterwards is questionable, given the high levels of arsenic in many of the county’s tin mines. This shortcrust can be made with butter, but lard will give a crisper, more authentically plain result, and using bread flour, as suggested by the Chough Bakery in Padstow, helps to make it even stronger. Then there’s the filling: forget lamb or cheese or even (St Petroc forbid) tandoori chicken. From now on, a Cornish pasty must be made from beef, and hearty chunks of it too, not the minced stuff favoured upcountry. The Cornish Pasty Association, which submitted the PGI bid, suggests skirt, a flavourful cut that stands up well to relatively slow cooking – Mark Hix recommends rump or rib, but I think they’re too fancy for this historically thrifty dish. Because skirt has very little fat on it, it makes the pasty pleasantly juicy, rather than greasy. Carrots are a definite no-no: instead a hearty mixture of potato, swede and onion forms the backbone of the filling – although a Cornish pasty must be no less than 12.5% beef, it’s important not to overdo the meat at the expense of the more traditional root veg. A waxy variety of potato, such as maris peer, is vital if the chunks are to maintain their shape during cooking, Both meat and vegetables should be raw – any attempt at a fancy gravy is heresy, although seasoning is permitted. You may however, on high days and holidays, add a dollop of clotted cream or knob of butter before crimping together the pastry in the time-honoured fashion. Oh, and of course you must be baking west of the Tamar. Otherwise you may as well not bother.
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