Cornish pasties

I’ve been living in the South West of England for more than three years and I have never been to Cornwall (shame, I know!)

Anyway, all across the South West it’s easy to find Cornish pasties and the good news is that it's more and more common to find a vegan option. I had them so many times all around Bristol and Bath and they’re one of my fave foods on-the-go.

I tried to make a homemade vegan version, loosely based on the original recipe and with a Cooking Flea twist. They were delicious but there’s always room for improvement…

INGREDIENTS for the pastry:

500g strong flour

250g vegan butter

1 tsp salt

175ml cold water

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INGREDIENTS for the filling:

2 small potatoes

3 carrots

1 onion

3 portobello mushrooms (or other varieties)

1 garlic clove

¼ celeriac

Olive oil to taste

Salt to taste

Thyme to taste

5 - 6 sage leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:

Tip the flour into a large bowl (or mixer bowl), add the butter (cut into small chunks), salt and start mixing until the texture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water and keep mixing (or kneading) until your dough is smooth.

Place it in a bowl, cover and let it rest in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, you can prepare the filling: stir-fry the diced onion and garlic clove in a pan with olive oil. Add the other vegetables, cut into small cubes, cover and let them cook until tender. Add salt to taste along with sage and thyme.

Slightly stretch the dough on a floured surface using a rolling pin. With a cookie cutter (about 10 cm diameter) cut the dough into circles. Stretch further each circle until it’s about 3-4 mm thick.

Place the vegetables in the middle, brush a little water around the edges of the pastry and fold it over. Crimp the edges by folding them over.

Slightly incise the top of each pastry to allow the steam to get out, brush with soy milk and bake at 190°C for 50 minutes. Allow the pastries to cool before serving.