Beef/Vegetable and Apple Pasties

There’s this story about a couple of guys from out of state who stopped at the store on the highway painted pink and lavender, with a sign: “Penelope’s Pasties” and asked where the strippers were. The poor guys had the pronunciation wrong! The “a” in pasties is pronounced as in the word “past” not as in the pronunciation in “paste.”

Of course, we Northern Minnesotans know what pasties are. They are a meat and vegetable filled pie with a crust shaped either in half moons or or elongated ovals.

Iron miners on the range as well as copper miners in the Upper Peninsula carried pasties in their lunch pails every day, hot from the oven and wrapped in newspapers to keep them warm for their noonday lunches.

One version (however controversial) has the meat and vegetable filling piled on one end of the crust and a dessert of sliced apples on the other. If you choose not to include the apple pie dessert, simply eliminate it.

The crust is a special boiling-water pastry. Lard will make the flakiest pastry, but if you prefer, you can use unsalted butter plus the olive oil.

Beef and Vegetable Pasties Makes 8 pasties

The apple filling is optional, but it adds a nice touch to the pasties. Place a wooden pick on the end of the pasty to mark the apple end of the filling

Boiling water crust:

1 cup (1/2 pound) lard (or 1 cup unsalted butter plus 2 tablespoons olive oil)

1 teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups boiling water

4 to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

3 cups peeled, ½ inch diced potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes)

1 ½ cups peeled, ½ inch diced rutabaga

1 cup peeled, ½ inch diced carrots

1 medium, onion, diced

1 pound lean beef, diced ½ to 1 inch (I used beef cut for stir-fry)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Apple Filling (optional):

3 medium-sized apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

Egg Wash:

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water

1. For the pastry: In a large bowl, mix the lard (or butter and olive oil) and salt. Pour the boiling water over and stir until the shortening is melted. Stir in 2 cups of flour at a time, enough to make a stiff dough. Cover and refrigerate one hour or more.

2. Divide into 8 parts. On a floured board, roll out each part to make an oval, 11 inches long and 8 inches across.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. For the Beef-Vegetable filling: In a medum-sized bowl, combine the ingredients.

5. For the Apple Filling: In another bowl, combine the filling ingredients if used.

6. I like to roll out all of the crusts at one time because I have the space to do so. Once the crusts are rolled out they can be filled. Brush half of each crust with the egg wash. Lay a packed mound filling in the center of each crust (if using the apple filling, pack that on one end of the crust). Fold crust over the filling gently.

7. After folding, crimp the crusts to seal – you can use a fork, or just your fingers to make a ropelike design. Place on the lined baking sheet, poke fork holes on top to allow air to escape during baking, egg wash the top, and place in the oven.

8. Bake for 1 hour or until golden. Serve with a pat of butter on top of each pasty. D