Pasties

Over the years I’ve always made pasties, particularly for picnics, but when I return to Cornwall, which I do often, I rarely make them. That’s because wherever you are in the south West Peninsula, Cornish pasties are on sale every day of the year. If you are lucky, they will be home made by the owner of a seaside café or a specialist bakery such as Ann Muller’s famous Lizard Pasty Shop at Helston, on the Eastern land, as we call the Lizard in Mousehole.

Back in London, I love making pasties. To be authentic, Cornish pasties are made with Cornish ingredients and everything that goes in one is raw. Much as I love the classic pasty filled with potatoes, onion, swede, confusingly often called turnip in Cornwall, and steak, I am increasingly inspired by Spanish empanadas, with their exotic, lively fillings. This little book is my take on Cornish and other pasties and I hope you find it inspiring. After all, you don’t have to be Cornish to love pasties and you don’t have to be Cornish to make them.