Hagbech Pasties

Now I could suggest that centuries ago, real Cornish pasties were made with chickpeas and beetroot with a hint of cumin and chilli because this particular combination worked well in fighting off the debilitating effects of mining tin, but that would just be wrong. The Cornish people make their pasties using beef and very good they are too I'm sure. I have had wonderful cheese and onion pasties from a shop in Rock on the north coast, but this recipe uses chickpeas, beetroot and cumin with all their beneficial qualities.

For the pastry you will need;
400g of plain flour
150g of chilled unsalted butter
50g of room temperature butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of salt
2 to 3 tablespoons of chilled water.

In a food mixer, place the flour, salt and room temperature butter and mix until the butter is incorporated. Grate the chilled butter into the flour, do this in stages, lifting some of the flour over the grated butter from time to time to keep the gratings separate. Mix the egg with the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix the flour and butter momentarily before adding the egg mix, keep mixing adding the 3rd tablespoon of water if needed to bring together to form a dough. Cover and leave in a cool place for an hour. All of this can be done by hand, it just takes longer.

For the filling you will need;
1 onion, chopped
1 beetroot, grated
1 red pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
100g of cooked chickpeas
500g of potato, sliced
240g of cheddar, grated
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
2 teaspoons of Marigold bouillon powder, or 1 teaspoon of salt.
1 egg, whisked lightly to use as a glaze

Begin by frying the onions, garlic, cumin seeds and red pepper in the oil over a gentle heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the grated beetroot and the seasoning and cook for a further 5 minutes over a gentle heat. Add the chickpeas and with either a potato masher or a fork, break up the chickpeas roughly. Set to one side to cool down while you slice the potato and grate the cheddar cheese.

Assembling the pasties;
Divide the pastry into 4 portions and roll out each to a thickness of a 1 pound coin, try to make this as circular as possible by turning the pastry as you roll it out. Brush half the edge with the egg was, place a layer of the potato on one half of the pastry, followed by some of the beetroot chickpea mix on top followed by some grated cheese and finally a little more potato, before folding over the other half and sealing. Crimp the edge in whatever way you feel happy with. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and continue the process until you have all 4 pasties stuffed and sealed. I usually keep back a little cheese to sprinkle on top having brushed the tops liberally with egg wash. Bake at 180C for 35 to 40 minutes.

Notes:
These pasties are really at there best served hot from the oven when the filling steams as you break them open. They are of course perfectly good served at  room temperature and they make a very practical picnic food.
You can very the filling by altering the vegetables and using different cheeses, the above is merely a suggestion and a combination which works particularly well.