Rick Stein’s Cornwall episode 30: In the final episode, Rick visits the Rame Peninsula. Far from the traditional tourist track, this part of Cornwall is famed for its cliffs and beaches. Rick also meets a beachcomber who has found some remarkable objects washed up on the shore. In mining country, Rick explores the history of the Cornish pasty and shows us how to cook them the proper Cornish way.
In this new series Rick Stein reveals the Cornwall that he knows and loves: a unique part of the British isles with a strong sense of identity and a history rooted in its Celtic past. With his famous natural inquisitiveness, Rick shares the road less travelled – championing the food, history, music, art and culture of the county many locals argue should be a country in its own right.
Rick Stein’s Cornwall episode 30
Cornish steak pasty
Rick Stein’s perfect Cornish pasty: buttery, flaky pastry with a well-seasoned filling of steak, potatoes, swede and onions.
Method:
- To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl, add half the butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the rest of the butter and 300ml/10fl oz cold water and bring it together to form a soft dough. Knead briefly until smooth, then roll out into a rough rectangle. Fold up the bottom third of the dough, then fold down the top third. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle, as in step 1. Fold up the bottom third and then fold down the top third and roll out once more; you should no longer be able to see the pieces of butter. Fold up the dough once more, wrap and chill for another 30 minutes.
- To make the filling, cut the swede and potatoes chips across into pieces 5mm/¼in in length. Mix the swede, potatoes, onion and steak together with 1 teaspoon of salt and ¾ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is 3mm/⅛in thick and cut out four 20cm/8in discs. Spoon equal amounts of the filling into the centre of each pastry disc and lightly brush the edge of one half of each disc with water. Bring the edges together over the top of the filling and press together well. Then, working from left to right, fold in the corner of the pasty and fold 2.5cm/1in of the edge inwards. Fold over the next 2.5cm/1in and continue like this along the edge, to create a rope-like design which will seal the pasty. Put the pasties onto a greased baking sheet and brush them with beaten egg. Chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Bake the pasties for 1 hour, turning them around after 30 minutes so they brown evenly. Serve warm.
Rick Stein
Christopher Richard “Rick” Stein, CBE (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein he has run the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. The business has a number of renowned restaurants, shops and hotels in Padstow along with other restaurants in Marlborough, Winchester and Barnes. He is also the head chef and a co-owner of “Rick Stein at Bannisters” at Mollymook and Port Stephens in Australia, with his second wife Sarah. He has written cookery books and presented television programmes.
After graduating, he converted a mobile disco in Padstow, which he had run as a student, into a quayside nightclub with his friend, Johnny. It became known for its freeze-dried curries. However, the nightclub lost its licence and was closed down by the police, mainly due to frequent brawls with local fishermen. The pair still had a licence for a restaurant in another part of the building, so they continued with that to avert bankruptcy.
Stein ran the kitchen using the experience he had gained as a commis chef. Eventually he converted it into a small harbour-side bistro, “The Seafood Restaurant”, with his first wife Jill in 1975. As of 2015, his business operates four restaurants, a bistro, a café, a seafood delicatessen, a pâtisserie shop, a gift shop and a cookery school. In 2007 threats against Stein’s businesses were made by Cornish nationalists. His impact on the economy of Padstow is such that it has been nicknamed “Padstein”.
