Event wrap-up: Pasties

Event wrap-up: Pasties: "

Preserving Traditions member Dennis Purcell led us in a great workshop on how to make pasties on April 4th. Here’s the recipe, for anyone who missed it!

Pasty crust recipe

The dough is similar to pie crust dough, but is a little less flaky and a little more sturdy. You can omit the salt and/or sugar, if you like.

For 4 large pasties

• 4 c. flour (all-purpose is best, but you can use whole wheat flour, too)


• 3/4 c. solid shortening (Crisco, butter, lard, palm oil. etc.)


• 1+ cup of water (start with one cup and add more as needed)


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1 tsp. sugar

Pasty filling recipe

Dennis tells us pasties can be filled with almost anything. He likes this mix because it’s not greasy, and has a lot of vegetables to go with the meat. You can omit any item, but you want to end up with about 3/4-1 cup of filling per pasty. Dice all the vegetables to the same size – about 1/4″ – so they cook evenly.

For 4 large pasties:

• 1/2 pound ground beef


• 1/2 pound ground pork (or use a total of 1 pound of ground beef; meat may be omitted for vegetarian pasties)


• 1 cup diced potato


• 1 cup diced onion


• 1/2 cup diced carrot


• 1/2 cup diced rutabaga


• 1/2 cup diced turnip


• 1/2 cup diced parsnip


• Minced fresh cilantro and parsley, to taste


• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the filling in a large bowl with your hands so all ingredients are distributed evenly.

To assemble the pasties:

Roll out the dough in an oval, about the size of a pie crust. Add up to a cup of the filling on one half of the dough – be sure you don’t over-stuff your pasty, or you won’t be able to seal it shut. You may dot the filling with butter, especially if your meat is lean or if you are making a vegetarian pasty. Fold the dough over to make a half-circle shape; fold and crimp the edges to keep the filling sealed in. Slash a couple steam vents in the top and bake on a greased sheet at 375 for about 45 minutes.

**I'm going to give this a vegan twist and try it out soon. For anyone out there paying attention, I'll fill you in on how it works out.**

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