Growing up in the early 80's I have some good and bad food memories but there are a few standout dishes I remember my Mum cooking that always bring a smile. The Cornish Pasty was one of them.

We used to have them with baked beans and Oxo gravy (Still a great combo). Cut a hole in the top and pour in the gravy - these days I tend to add a liberal splashing of Worcestershire sauce for an extra kick.

Everyone has their take on how to make a proper pasty but there are two golden rules which are consistent:

1) All ingredients are raw
2) Beef, onion, potato and swede are required

Some people slice, some people dice, some flour their beef first. As they say in Thailand, "Same same but different."

Step 1 - Chop

• First, heat your oven to 200C
• Chop up your onion, swede and potato
• Roughly chop up the steak

Step 2 - Roll

• Flour your work surface and rolling pin
• Roll out the pasty until about 2-3mm thick
• Put a side plate over the top and cut around it

Step 3- Fill

• Add Swede, potato and onion to one half, leaving 1 inch around the edge
• Add the steak on top
• Salt and pepper on top
• Add a knob of butter which will help add a little gravy to the finished pasty

Step 4 - Close 'em up

• Brush a little water around the edge near the filling
• Fold over the top side and lightly press together, pushing any stray mixture back into the pasty
• Fold the corners back over on themselves
• Using the end of a spoon handle, press into the edge to properly seal the edges
• Brush with beaten egg
• Stick a knife in the top to let the steam out

Step 5 - Cook

• Put the pasties on a baking sheet into the oven at 200C for 30 minutes
• Turn the oven down to 180C and cook for another 30 minutes
• Take them out and let them cool, or if you are impatient, get your asbestos mouth ready and dive in!

What I am going to do next time

So it tasted pretty good but to be honest, I have made better. It's been a while and I made these whilst fending off my two hungry boys so I can let myself off. I have high standards when it comes to a pasty.

Things I will change for my next pasty session:

• Mix up the filling in a bowl as when I closed up the pasty, you can see that the layering has been lost
• I'll make them the way my Mum used to and seal them at the top rather than the side
• Probably up the veg to meat ratio (just a little!)
• Have more pastry per pasty
• Make more of them!
   

Cornish Pasty

Makes 3 large Pasties

• Steak (I used Rump here)  450g
• 1 medium potatoes (King Ed's or Maris Piper work well) 
• 1 Swede - only need a decent slice, a similar amount to potato
• 1 large onion
• Shortcrust pastry 320g (I bought mine from the supermarket)
• Knob of butter for each pasty
• Salt & pepper
• 1 beaten egg for glazing