Cornish & Pumpkin Pasties

To finish with my Harry Potter party recipes, today I have two more recipes, one savory and one sweet: Cornish pasties and pumpkin pasties. I remember back when I first read the Harry Potter books, I always wondered what pumpkin pasties looked like and how they tasted.

Well after having made them, now I know :). Pumpkin pasties are like mini pumpkin pie bites, pleasant little after dinner desserts. Cornish pasties, on the other hand, are more of a during the main feast kind of dish. And no, they don't contain corn (many of my friends asked about that before eating them, I think they originated in Cornwall); they're flaky hand pies filled with beef and onions.

Cornish Pasties

adapted from evelyn/athens 

Short Crust Pastry
4 cups flour
1 cup shortening
6 tbsp ice water
1 tsp salt
Filling
8 oz ground beef
6 oz potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 tbsp beef stock
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
milk

Short Crust Pastry: Mix 1/2 cup of the flour with the salt. Then mix in the shortening and ice water. Then with a fork, mix in the rest of the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. Add in more water if too dry, 1 tablespoon at a time. Gather the dough in a ball and refrigerate for an hour.

Mix the ground beef, potatoes, onion, thyme, salt, and pepper together. Stir in the beef stock to bind the filling. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the short crust pastry between two sheets of plastic wrap, or on a floured surface till 1/8 inch thick. Cut out ten 5-6 inch circles from the dough (I traced a 5 1/2 inch plate with a knife). Place some of the meat mixture at the center of each dough circle. Brush the edges of the dough circles with milk. Fold the circles in half and seal with a fork.

Transfer all the pasties to your lined baking sheet. Brush all of them with milk. Bake them in the oven at 400°F for 10 minutes, then lower the over to 350°F, and continue baking for 45-50 minutes, or until light brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 10.

Pumpkin Pasties

adapted from The Geeky Chef

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
8 oz canned pumpkin or 1 cup fresh pumpkin
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp melted butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 can evaporated milk
your favorite pie crust pastry (enough for 1 crust)
1 egg, beaten (for an egg wash)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine the egg and sugar. Mix in the pumpkin, salt, butter, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Then add the evaporated milk, mixing well. Spray a 8x8 inch dish with nonstick spray and pour in your mixture. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350°F and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Once done, let the filling cool completely on a wire rack.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out your pastry very thin and cut out about thirty 3 1/4 inch circles. Place a small spoonfull of the cooled pumpkin mixture in the center of each circle. Add a bit of water to the egg to make an egg wash. Brush the border of each circle with the egg wash. Fold each circle in half and seal with a fork. Cut three small vent slits on the top of each pastie with a knife.

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush each pastie with the egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack and serve at room temperature.

Makes 30.