Pasties

Many cultures have some sort of portable baked or fried or steamed hand held dish.  Whether it's Calzone, Empanada, Egg rolls, Pot stickers, Piroski, Perogies, and on and on...it's usually filled with something and has a flour based exterior.

When I went to London a few years ago, I came across these things called a Pasty, it's very similar to a Piroski but has a short crust exterior. They are very lovely and comforting.  They have shops all over like we have coffee shops. It's said they became popular with miners back in the 18th century because they were portable. I had a couple of vegetarian ones filled with potato, curry, mushrooms, and other veggies.  The very traditional are usually beef, potatoes, onions, and salt.  

Last weekend, I made them for the first time for a game night potluck.  I made 2 versions, one with meat and one veggie. I made it with a Australian short crust and I created the filling flavors which were Korean marinade. 

The feedback was mixed.  The meat version needed to be more saucy.  I thought the crusts were too heavy handed.  Overall they were good but there is some more testing and tweaks to do so no recipe but here are some pics.  The next day, I tried the veggie filling with store bought puff pastry and I found that texture to be lighter and more savory. So will keep trying.  I really love them though!