Nick’s Community Kitchen: Leftover breakfast pasty recipe
To keep a smile on our followers’ faces and to boost our own morale, we’ve launched a new online series with our Executive Chef Nick Hodges – “Nick’s Community Kitchen”. Every few days via our Facebook page, Nick will be demonstrating some simple but delicious and fun dishes for you all to try at home. Please click here to view our Facebook videos.
Today we bring you: Nick’s “If It’s” breakfast Pasty Recipe
Nick says: “Growing up, I would always ask my mum: ‘What’s for tea?’ Often on a Monday night, the reply would be: ‘If it’s.’ The basic idea: if we’ve got it – you’ll get it, meaning mum had no idea either. I think in these most unusual times, ‘if it’s’ are probably on the dinner table most nights! This pasty recipe was an ‘if it’s’ favourite of my mum’s. Leftovers from the weekend breakfast would be the main filling.”
Here’s the breakfast pasty recipe, which makes two good sized pasties…
The filling:
- 100g peeled diced potatoes
- 25g diced onion
- Cooked bacon and sausage leftovers, chopped up
- Leftover cooked tomatoes, sliced
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper
The pastry (always half fat to flour):
- 250g plain flour
- 125g butter or margarine (traditionally half lard to butter)
- Splash of milk
- Pinch of salt
Method:
For the filling, simply pop all the ingredients in a bowl. Crack in the egg, then season well.
For the pastry, rub together the fat and flour until it’s a light crumb. Slowly add the milk, then season. Bring the pastry together to form a dough – do not overwork.
A good tip: make the pastry a little wet to absorb the flour when rolling.
Putting it together:
Break a handful of pastry, then form into a ball.
Place on a floured bench. Press into a round disk, then roll out continuing to form into a circle. Keep flipping and flouring, making sure the pastry doesn’t stick.
Place the filling just off the middle of the pastry and leave an inch gap all around the pastry, allowing room for the crimp. Brush the edges with milk, then fold over the pastry to form the pasty ‘D’ shape.
The crimp:
It’s hard to explain ‘crimping’ on paper. So here goes…
- At the top of the ‘D,’ pinch the pastry lightly in your forefinger and thumb.
- Then twist and turn the pastry, over and over.
- This should form a knot style twist running from end to end.
Cooking:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Place the pasty on greaseproof paper. Brush with milk and cook for 45 minutes to an hour – this will depend on your oven. The pastry will turn a crisp golden brown when ready.
Remove from the oven and leave to sit under a tea towel for 20 minutes. This last rest is important – it allows the filling to steam and makes for a great pasty.
We’d love to see how you’ve been getting on in your own home kitchen. Please send in a photo of your creations to marketing@greenbank-hotel.co.uk, for your chance to be crowned our “Community Kitchen Champion.” Our winner will receive a gift voucher for the Water’s Edge restaurant, to be enjoyed when we’re back on our feet.
