Curried vegetable & cheese, onion and chive pasties

It seems I have a bug. Friday being a day of high expense, we needed a solution to Saturday. "I'm going to make two types of pasty to take to the jazz festival" I proclaimed. Now I feel like pasties can conquer the World. They must be one of the most convenient non-convenience foods there are. In days of old in England, you can see why they were the ultimate portable food to take to the fields or the pit. Virtually any filling can be used, but never deviate from the traditional when in Cornwall. No chicken curry or chili con carne allowed. You will be met with deadly stares if you suggest a pasty should be anything other than the hallowed version traditional in that area. it is so revered, in fact, it has 'Protected Geographical Indication', similar to Champagne. The Cornish Pasty is indeed the finest you will find.

I, however, feeling safe many thousands of kilometers away from Cornwall, made some very nontraditional varieties. The roasting of vegetables also seems to becoming a habit with me. It's so simple to just throw some in a pan and forget about them while completing other tasks. This time I added some spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili powder, along with a pinch of bright yellow turmeric and saffron sea salt bought the day before.

Once the vegetables were soft and slightly charred, I added a tbsp of curry paste and some lemon juice to really amp up the curry vibe. The kitchen smelled like an Indian restaurant, fragrant with spices and roasted onions.

Recipe : Curried vegetable pasties

Pastry (Click for link to the recipe) 

I used a tsp of yellow turmeric and saffron salt in the pastry mix, you can try anything you like, adding a little turmeric or saffron to the flour instead.

Filling:

1 medium sized eggplant, cut into chunks

1/2 cauliflower, separated into florets

1 red and orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks

4 baby or 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks

1 clove garlic, left whole

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and cut finely

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp each of cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala (optional), chili powder, turmeric and salt.

1 tbsp curry paste 

Juice of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 450oF and place all the vegetables into a baking dish. Drizzle the oil over and sprinkle with all the spices. Stir well to mix everything together and roast for 1 hour or until soft and slightly caramelized.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and add the curry paste and lemon juice. Mix well and taste. Adjust the seasoning with a little more salt, chili powder or curry paste as you like. Squeeze the garlic from it's skin and mix into everything else.

Assembly

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and cut a circle about 6 inches diameter. Fill with about 2 - 3 tbsp of filling, use a little water to moisten the edges and pull them up to create a semi circle. Pinch together at the top. Repeat with the rest of the pastry and filling. (You should get about 6 pasties and extra filling left over. You can use this for other meals or keep covered in the fridge or freezer for future pasties).

Brush the pasties with a mixture of 1 beaten egg and a little milk, then repeat with more eggwash after 5 minutes. 

Place the pasties onto 1 or 2 oiled and floured baking trays and bake for about 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.  

Remove and cool on a wire rack or eat straight away. 

You could serve this with some mango chutney to add a different sweet taste to complement the curry.

Cheese, onion and chive pasties. 

Cheese and onion pasties are very popular in the UK, especially the mass produced varieties sold at service stations or chain bakeries. To make your own from scratch is a pleasure, as you can control the amount and type of cheese you would like, rather than the generic processed mush often used in mass production and lessen the sweet taste that is prevalent in these varieties. Mashed potato is often used for bulk and texture, although a pasty made with nothing but cheese would be overwhelming but spectacular if you are a cheese lover like me. 

Recipe : Cheese, onion, potato and chive pasties

For pastry recipe, see above.

Filling 

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 tbsp butter

1/2 an onion, peeled and finely diced

1 cup of grated strong tasting cheese, (I used very old Cheddar)

1/2 tsp mustard powder (optional)

2 tbsp minced fresh chives

1 - 1.5 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp each of black and white pepper, freshly ground

To make the filling:

Boil the potatoes in a large pan of salted water for approx 20 minutes until fork soft. Drain and mash coarsely with a masher or fork. Add about 1 tbsp butter and mix well.

Add the other ingredients, mix well and taste. Adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Follow the instructions for the assembly and cooking of the pasties above.