I have been reading a fair few British novels these days and I guess Cornish pasties and Welsh oggies have been on my mind. The above is neither of the two, though how much I drooled reading about them certainly inspired this dish which is, in fact, a complete mishmash of who knows what besides the fevered workings of my food obsessed brain.
Delicious and impressive in presentation, I shall be making these again and serving them at picnics; they are sturdy, eminently portable and easy to pack.
Makes 2 enormous pasties or 4 normal-sized ones
Roquefort Short Crust
2 cups flour
2 Tbsps chilled butter, grated and re-chilled
2 Tbsps chilled Roquefort, finely chopped and re-chilled
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
3-5 Tbsps ice cold water
Filling
1 lb quality beef of your choice (I used stir fry strips)
1 large potato, washed and peeled
1 carrot, washed and peeled
1/2 shallot, finely minced
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 tsp flour
salt and pepper
Garlic Cream
1 Tbsp cream
1 crushed garlic clove
First make the garlic cream by heating the cream until just before it boils and adding the crushed clove of garlic. Set aside while you make the rest. This will add a little shine and a tiny bit of additional flavor to the end product but you can skip the cream if you are reducing cooking steps.
Then make the short crust, which will make a very soft dough. You will need to work fast and not overmix the ingredients for the flakiest possible crust.
Place the flour and rosemary in a large bowl. Grate in the butter (I found this is the best way to distribute butter in short crust) and add the Roquefort directly from the fridge. I did not add salt as I felt the Roquefort would do the trick, and it did.
Add 3 Tbsps water to begin, using your hands to mix the ingredients together to form a ball. If they do not come together easily, add more water until they do.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the filling.
I use the same bowl that I made the crust in. You need to chop the vegetables and the beef into very small pieces so that they cook properly. I make them about the size of half of the eraser on a pencil. Place them in the bowl, add the rosemary and the shallot, Mix together. Salt and pepper more generously than you usually would and then add the flour. Mix well so that the seasonings and flour are distributed evenly. The flour will serve to thicken any veggie or meat juices that occur during cooking.
Preheat the oven to 425 and assemble your "pasties".
Remove the dough fom the refrigerator, cut into 2 or 4 portions depending on the size you wish to make and return all but one portion to the fridge. Roll the crust out as you would any pie crust. because the dough is soft, I have found it easiest to do this between 2 sheets of parchment or wax paper.
Place 1/2 or a quarter of the filling on one side of the dough. Fold over the other side and crimp the edges very well so that no liquid or filling can escape. Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Brush each of the pasties with some of the garlic cream, if using. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before eating. Best with a green salad with a sharp mustardy vinaigrette.