Pastry rolled out like a plate,
Piled with turmut, tates and mate,
Doubled up, and baked like fate,
That’s a Cornish pasty.
With family roots going back to Cornwall England and a grandfather who worked in the mines of Pennsylvania, it is no wonder that I ate plenty of pasties growing up. Both of my parents grew up in the coal regions of PA and there are plenty of local dishes that made it to our dinner table.
I love pasties and have made them for my own family – they are incredibly filling and really hit the right spot on cold winter nights.
Our family version called for a pie crust, which was then layered with sliced potatoes on the bottom, ground beef or chopped stew meat and then onions. A sprinkle of salt and pepper on top. The crust was folded over and crimped along the sides. They were served with either ketchup or a tomato chutney that my grandmother would have jarred. One site I read said that the women would pierce the pasty’s crust with their husbands’ initials, so that when they were at work in the mines, they would know which pasty belonged to them. In our house, my brother was the only one who got a specially pierced crust – his pasty had no onions.
When I came by this link on Metafilter I could harldy believe my eyes. The humble pasty is all over the internet! They are even available for mail order. I was inspired to do a google search on the history of the pasty and pages of sites came up. Here are some pasty quotes from literature …
The Merry Wives of Windsor: Act 1 Scene 1
PAGE: Wife, bid these gentlemen welcome. Come, we have a hot venison pasty to dinner: come gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness.
All’s Well That Ends Well: Act IV Scene III
PAROLLES: I will confess to what I know without constraint: if ye pinch me like a pasty , I can say no more.
after all of this, I wonder if I have any ground beef to make pasties for dinner tonight ….. my stomach is growling!
purlingswine 