Cheese and Onion Pasties

Today I decided to make some savoury pasties.  I have a new tool that I thought would work very well for shaping the pasties.  I chose cheese and onion, with potato, as the filling.

So what I needed was a nice shortcrust pastry, though puff pastry would have been fine too.  It is just that I prefer shortcrust for pasties.

The recipe is actually very simple,  but it just takes a little time from start to finish.  

I dont really like cooked cheese, so I didn’t taste the pasties, but I was able to try the pastry on one of the small ones.  The pastry was fantastically light and flaky, due to the lard.  I know the full pasties will taste great too, and are ideal warm or cold.

                                       Cheese & Onion Pasties 

• 400g plain flour
• 300g potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes.
• 300g grated cheddar cheese, I used medium, but strong would be fine too.
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1 tsp English mustard powder.
• 100g butter, cubed and chilled
• 100g lard cubed adn chilled
• 1 medium egg(large in USA), beaten
• 1 extra egg, for an egg wash.
• 4-6 tsp ice cold water.

Method:

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan with some water and bring to the boil.  Let them simmer for about 10 minutes.(If you wish to mash the potatoes you should boil them for longer)
2. Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool.
3. In the bowl of a food processor place the flour, lard and butter.
4. Pulse until the mixture has turned into a fine breadcrumb texture.
5. Add the beaten egg and pulse to mix it in.
6. Add 3 tablespoons of water and pulse until the mixture clumps together.  
7. Take out of the processor and place on a slightly floured work surface.  
8. Pull the dough into a disc and cover with plastic wrap and then chill for 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, place the potatoes and onions into a large bowl, mix together and sprinkle the mustard powder over the top.
10. Add the cheese and mix together again. Set aside.
11. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F
12. Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper, or silicone mats.
13. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.
14. Cut circles of the diameter you wish, I did 6 inches/15cm(then I did some smaller ones too).
15. Place some of the filling into the middle of the cut out pastry, leaving a gap around the edge. (don’t over fill or you will get leakage – which i did on a couple of mine).
16. Brush the edge of the pastry with egg and then fold one edge over the filling and press down onto the other edge.
17. Press the edges together with a fork to make a pattern.
18. Brush the top with egg wash.
19. Make a hole in the top to allow steam to be released during baking.
20. Place the pasties onto the baking trays and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and a nice golden brown.
21. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
22. These pasties can be frozen, either before or after baking.