CORNISH PASTY

Two delicious. experts offer their interpretation of the West Country classic – but whose filling will win your heart (and your taste buds)?

TEAM TRAD

There’s something magical about a good Cornish pasty. Its basic components are so simple: onion, swede, potato and beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, encased in pastry and baked. The filling ingredients aren’t browned first and there’s not even a hint of a herb. So how has it become one of the UK’s favourite classic dishes?

The answer is the pastry. It’s soft on the inside and flaky on the outside, offering a deliciously rich counterpoint to the simple filling. Comfort food at its absolute peak – it’s perfect just as it is.

HEAD OF FOOD TOM SHINGLER

RESPECTING TRADITION

A Cornish pasty isn’t merely something to be honoured – it’s protected by law. Everything sold as a ‘Cornish’ pasty has to follow strict rules and methods and, crucially, be made in Cornwall. This recipe adheres to those rules, although for those of us living outside Cornwall, I think we can get away with bending the geographic requirement, provided we’re not selling them.

HOW I DID IT

Because it’s so simple, your ingredients need to be good quality and your pastry needs to be on point.

Using beef skirt might mean a trip to the butcher’s (although you can find it in some supermarkets now), but the lean cut has been chosen for a reason: it will cook at the same rate as the vegetables and it doesn’t have any fat or sinew, which would turn tough during the brief cooking.

Take the time to cut even cubes of swede, potato and beef so they cook evenly. The potato should be waxy if possible because floury spuds tend to disintegrate more once cooked. And the main flavouring for the filling is black pepper, which should be applied liberally to the mixture.