Cornish Crab Pasty Recipe

As part of my culinary tour of the British Isles, I've been working on and editing recipes from the various regions. The next region to be tackled will be Cornwall. I have been collecting recipes from Cornwall for my next book in the Classic British Recipes book series that I'm writing.

Most of the recipes are traditional, but this happens to be a modern twist on the classic Cornish pasty that uses a crab meat filling rather than the more typical beef, potatoes, turnips and onions.

Cornish Crab Pasties Recipe

Serves: 6

This is a classic modern Cornish recipe for a pasty filled with Cornish crab meat. This works equally well with either brown crab meat, or that other Cornish speciality, the spider crab. Spider crabs are more fiddly to handle, but the meat is sweeter.

I've used a very traditional recipe for the pasty pastry here. The recipe being based on that printed in the 1929 volume of traditional Cornish recipes: Cornish Recipes, Ancient and Modern, Edith Martin, Truro, 1929. Learn more about the book and about Cornish pasties on the Celtnet Pastry for Pasties page.

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

350g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
160g (5 oz) lard, diced

160g (5 oz) shredded suet
1/2 tsp sea salt
cold water to bind

For the Filling:

50g (2 oz) unsalted butter
4 spring onions, finely chopped
100g (4 oz) firm, white, fish fillet, finely chopped
200g (2 cups) crab meat (mix of white and dark)
finely-grated zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme,finely chopped
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg, beaten with 2 tbsp water to seal and glaze

Method:

For the pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Dice the lard and suet into the bowl with the flour and rub into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add enough water to bring the mixture together as a stiff, slightly friable dough. Form into a ball, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and set aside in the refrigerator to chill).

For the Filling: Melt the butter in a pan, add the spring onions and fry for about 4 minutes, or until soft. Turn into a bowl and combine with all the other filling ingredients. Season to taste.

Take the pastry from the refrigerator, turn out onto a lightly-floured works surface and roll out to about 2.5mm thick. Take a 15cm plate and use this as a template to cut out 6 circles from the pastry.

Divide the filling evenly between the pastry rounds, mounding it up in the centre. Brush the edges of the pastry with milk or beaten egg, then bring the edges together over the filling. Firmly pinch the edges together then crimp the edges to form a scalloped crest over the top.

Use a sharp knife to make two small holes in the top of the pastries (this allows steam to escape) then brush over the top with the beaten egg to glaze.

Carefully transfer the pasties to a greased baking tray then set in an oven pre-heated to 200ºC and bake for about 20 minutes. After this time, reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown.

Serve either hot or cold.

For more traditional Cornish recipes, see the Celtnet Cornish Recipes collection, with over 320 traditional Scottish recipes.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes collection page.

UPDATE! The Cornish Recipes book has been published!
This recipe and over 250 other traditional Cornish recipes are found in my new eBook, Classic Cornish Recipes, which can be purchased via Amazon using the link on the left.

The book also contains information on both classic traditional and modern Cornish recipes. There is an entire chapter on Cornish Pasties (many kinds) that also compares the traditional Cornish pasty with other British pasties and pasties from around the globe. Wild Cornish foods and Cornish seafoods are showcased, along with some of the best of modern Cornish cookery.

The most comprehensive collection of Cornish recipes available anywhere!

Scottish Borders Tart Recipe

I know, there has not been a post for a while now. But I've been busy working on my book of Scottish recipes.

As an example of the content, here is a recipe for a traditional fruit tart from the Scottish borders that is derived from the book:

Scottish Borders Tart Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Tart:

60g (2 oz) butter
60g (2 oz) soft dark brown sugar
240g (8 oz) sweet shortcrust pastry
1 egg, beaten
150g (3 oz) mixed, dried, fruit
60g (2 oz) mixed candied peel, chopped
30g (1 oz) walnuts, chopped
30g (1 oz) glacé cherries, chopped

For the Topping:

120g (4 oz) icing sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp lemon juice

Method:

Combine the butter and sugar in a small pan. Heat gently until the butter has melted then stir until the sugar has dissolved and take off the heat. Set aside to cool.

Turn the pastry onto a floured work surface and roll out until large enough to cover the base and sides of a 16cm (7 in) round flan tin. Trim the pastry and set aside.

Mix together the fruit in a bowl, adding the walnuts and the chopped glacé cherries. Stir in the beaten egg then turn into the prepared flan tin. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (360ºF) and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

When the tart has cooled completely, mix together the icing sugar, water and lemon juice in a bowl. Spread this over the top of the tart and set aside to set before serving.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes collection page.

For more traditional Scottish recipes, see the Celtnet Scottish Recipes collection, with over 320 traditional Scottish recipes.


Update: the Scottish Recipes book is now available:

Over 500 other traditional Scottish recipes have been collected together and are now to be found in my new eBook: Classic Scottish Recipes, which can be purchased via Amazon using the link on the left.

The book also contains information on Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) and Burns Night, including the full order of service for a Burns Supper. In addition there are cocktail recipes for Hogmanay and extra recipes for Hogmanay so that you can host a classic dinner or party.

The most comprehensive collection of Scottish recipes available anywhere!

Sottish Buttermilk Sodabread Recipe

When most people think of sodabread they immediately think 'Irish'. However, almost every region of the British Isles has its own twist on soda bread (after all, these breads only evolved after the invention of baking powder in the 1820s) and the recipe presented here today is for a traditional Scottish version of the bread.

Buttermilk Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

500g (1 lb) plain flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
30g (1 oz) butter
500ml buttermilk (if you do not have buttermilk, make sour milk by mixing 2 tbsp lemon juice or wine vinegar into 500ml whole milk)

Method:

Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl. Dice the butter, add to the dry ingredients and lightly rub in with your fingertips.

Add the buttermilk and mix to a light, soft, dough. Divide the dough in half and shape both into rounds on a lightly-floured work surface.

Arrange on a greased baking tray, transfer to an oven pre-heated to 210ºC (425ºF) and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

Serve warm, sliced and spread with butter.

To me, the bread as it is is a little bland (I have given the traditional version above) so I add a handful of rolled oats (a very Scottish addition).

To use as little buns to serve with soup, add 1 tbsp milk curry powder to the dough mixture, divide into 6 buns and bake for about 15 minutes.

This really is a very versatile basic mixture and you can do a lot with it.

For more traditional Scottish recipes, see the Celtnet Scottish Recipes collection, with over 320 traditional Scottish recipes.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes collection page.

I'm currently working on a number of books of classic British cookery from all the regions of the British Isles and the first of these will be on Sottish cookery. It's expected that the book will be available in eBook format by the end of next week and in paperback by the first week of December. Look out for more announcements on this Blog!

UPDATE! The book has been published!
This recipe and over 500 other traditional Scottish recipes are found in my new eBook, Classic Scottish Recipes, which can be purchased via Amazon using the link on the left.

The book also contains information on Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) and Burns Night, including the full order of service for a Burns Supper. In addition there are cocktail recipes for Hogmanay and extra recipes for Hogmanay so that you can host a classic dinner or party.

The most comprehensive collection of Scottish recipes available anywhere!

Eggless Rich Chocolate Cake Recipe

Any regular reader of this blog knows that on Wednesday I bake. This weekend I have a friend coming over who really does not like eggs, but he loves cakes and sweet dishes. His wife is Japanese, so he gets little enough baking at home.

As an experiment I decided to try a recipe for an eggless chocolate cake. The original recipe was for a chocolate sponge pudding intended to be steamed. But I tweaked it a little to transform into an eggless sponge cake. The recipe follows:

Eggless Rich Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

90g (3 oz) butter
2 tbsp golden syrup (corn syrup)
300ml (1 1/4 cups) boiling water
1 tbsp vanilla extract
300g (2/3 lb) self-raising flour
100g (3 1/2 oz) caster sugar
25g dark cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the Chocolate Glaze:
100g dark chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp golden syrup (corn syrup)

Method:

Combine the butter and golden syrup in a small heat-proof jug or bowl. Pour over the 300ml boiling water and stir until the butter has dissolved.

Sift together the four, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the centre, add the butter mix and stir until you have a smooth batter.

Turn the batter into a greased 20cm (8 in) diameter cake tin. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 150°C and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cake is well risen, springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the centre emerges cleanly.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is cold, combine the chocolate and syrup in a heat-proof bowl and add 3 tbsp water. Place in a microwave and cook on full power for 30 seconds or until the chocolate has melted.

Set aside to cool slightly then pour over the cake and serve.

Chocolate buttercream icing also works well for this cake. The cake is also rich enough to be serve as a pudding.

Honey-roasted Turkey Recipe

With both Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the horizon, today I am reviving a classic Victorian recipe from the 1860s for a turkey roasted with a honey glaze.

In Britain it was Charles Dickens who helped popularize turkey rather than the more traditional goose as the centrepiece of the Christmas table. This recipe keeps the bird moist and gives it a delicious crust. 

This is a Victorian method of roasting a turkey that has fallen out of fashion. However, the honey gives the meat a truly delicious flavour and adds a rich, dark, crust to the bird. This is a method of cooking that really deserves to be more widely known and will give your Christmas (or Thanksgiving) bird that added 'wow' factor.

Honey-roasted Turkey Recipe

Ingredients:

1 oven-ready turkey (about 4.5kg [10 lbs])
1 small apple, peeled
1 small onion, peeled
1 small potato, peeled
1 thick slice of lemon
75g (3 oz) butter
160ml (2/3 up) thick honey
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Season the turkey liberally inside and out with salt and black pepper. Sit the apple, onion and potato inside the body cavity (these help flavour the bird and keep it moist). Arrange the bird, breast uppermost, in a roasting tin then rub the skin of the bird all over with the lemon slice.

Combine the butter and honey in a small pan, season lightly then eat gently until the butter melts and the honey is runny then pour the mixture all over the turkey, taking care that all parts of the bird are coated. Set aside to stand for 40 minutes, spooning the honey mixture over the bird from time to time. 

After this time, transfer the bird to an oven pre-heated to 200ºC (400ºF) and roast for 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Reduce the oven temperature to 175ºC (350ºF) and roast for a further 30 minutes, again basting occasionally.

At this point, cover the bird with kitchen foil and continue cooking for about 2 hours more, or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer. Remove the foil for the final 15 minutes of cooking to ensure that the skin is crisp.
Remove from the oven and allow the bird to rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

For more information on how to roast your bird to perfection, see the Celtnet Roasting guide.

For more Christmas recipes, see the Celtnet Christmas Recipes collection page and for more Thanksgiving recipes see the Celtnet Thanksgiving Recipes collection page.

There are more traditional and historic recipes on the Traditional and Historic recipes page of this blog.

Custard Raspberry Fool Recipe

Today's recipe is a classic Scottish dessert, using that most Scottish of fruit, the raspberry.

Fools, as blends of fruit and whipped cream date back to the 1590s, though this is a more modern version made with an egg custard base.

Why a Scottish recipe? Because I'm currently working on a book of  traditional Scottish recipes that will include Burns Night and Hogmanay dishes as well. Look out for the book in the next couple of weeks.

Custard Raspberry Fool Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Egg Custard:

1 egg

300ml (1 1/4 cups) milk

1 dessert spoon sugar

For the Fruit:

750ml (3 cups) raspberries

60ml (1/4 cup) water

sugar, to taste

Method:

Combine the raspberries and water in a pan. Cover and stew gently for about 15 minutes, or until the fruit have broken down. Take off the heat and pass through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract as much fruit pulp as possible. Sweeten to taste with sugar.

In the meantime prepare the custard. Beat the egg in a heat-proof bowl then whisk in the milk. Place the bowl in a pan of barely-simmering water and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Sweeten to taste with sugar.

Combine 600ml of the redcurrant pulp with 300ml of the custard and set aside to cool. Spoon into dessert glasses and allow to cool completely. Chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

For more Scottish recipes (over 350) see the Celtnet Scottish recipes pages.

For all the British recipes on this blog see the recipes from the British Isles page.

Pudim de Banana (Baked Banana Pudding) Recipe from Mozambique

Today we have a classic banana pudding recipe from Mozambique. This is a dish of boiled and mashed bananas blended with a milk, flour and egg custard that's baked in the oven to set before serving.

Pudim de Banana Recipe

Baked Banana Pudding

Origin: Mozambique

Serves: 6–8

Ingredients:

500g bananas, peeled

180g sugar

500ml milk

60g plain flour

30g sugar

2 egg yolks

1 egg

Method:

Chop the bananas and combine in a pan with the 180g sugar and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the bananas are soft. Take off the heat and pass through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Set aside to cool.

Heat the milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and whisk a little of the milk with the flour to form a smooth paste. Whisk this mixture back into the milk and work in the 30g sugar until dissolved.

Whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Beat in two ladlesful of the milk mixture to temper then pour this back into the pan and beat to combine.

Put the custard back on the heat and cook gently until well thickened. Take off the heat and beat in the banana purée.

Turn the mixture into a springform cake tin or a silicone mould. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC and bake for 30 minutes, or until set. Allow to cool then turn out.

Serve chilled.

This can also be made with plantians, sweet potatoes, pineapple and papaya, as well as native fruit such as Maphilwa, Vangueria infausta, known in English as the African Medlar.

If you want to learn more about Mozambican cuisine and food, see the Celtnet recipes from Mozambique page.

For more African recipes from this blog, see the African Recipes links page.