 Cornish Recipes |
| Cornish Recipes |
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This is copied (more or less) from the tea-towel hung on the back of my office door.
Roll out the pastry to ¼" (5mm) thick and cut into four 6"(15cm) circles (or larger if you want a man-sized pasty - my mum used to cut round a dinner plate or a dessert plate depending on which member of the family it was for). Cut the potato directly on to the pastry by cutting small flakes or dicing first, the choice is yours. Next cover this with the swede (if you are American - rutabaga) then add some of the onion, diced and the meat (don't be stingy with the meat). Add a dot of butter and season well. Dampen the edges of the pastry and fold in half to form a semi-circle. Pinch and turn the edge over to make a rope like effect as shown in the picture above. Some people jab a knife into the top to make a 'steam-hole'. Brush on the beaten egg and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake, in a hot oven (425°F-Gas mark 7, for 10 minutes then lower the temperature setting to 350°F-Gas mark 4 for 30 minutes. Eat, hot or cold, preferably by placing into a paper bag and eating from one end, turning the bag back as you go. Obviously, if you want to be posh you can put it on a plate and eat it with a knife and fork. Tradition is that the pasty shape represents the quarter moon with blunted horns. This is the emblem of Astarte, Goddess of the Phoenicians who came to Cornwall to trade tin. Later, since they contain a full meal they became very popular with miners and farm workers. |
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Bisque
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| Cut up bacon, onion and tomatoes into small
pieces. Cook gently with garlic and seasoning in a little butter. Add the stock or water
and simmer for 35 mins. Make a thin white sauce using 1 oz butter, flour, milk and
seasoning. When cooked, blend carefully with the tomato soup (which must be strained).
Both must be hot but not boiling. Add the crab or lobster and cream. Serve with croutons. |
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Cornish Pig's Head Pudding
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| Completely submerge the head in strong brine
for 14 days then remove any floating scum and boil for 3 hours. When cool remove all meat
from the skull mixing it with the breadcrumbs and spices and finally pass it through a
coarse mincing machine. Now add the beaten eggs and mix into a semi-solid paste which is
to be rolled out into a square, and the chopped hard-boiled eggs placed in its centre. The
sides are now rolled up and the whole placed in a floured pudding cloth and boiled for 3
hours. Alternatively, the pudding can be encased in water-pastry and steamed for the same
length of time. |
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Cornish Under-Roast
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| Chop the beef and kidneys up into ½in (12mm) cubes. Peel and slice the onions then place meat and onions in
bag with flour and seasoning and now toss. Melt the dripping in frying pan and when hot
tip out the contents of the bag and cook to seal in the juices. Now add the stock and
allow to simmer slowly. Pour the contents into a baking tin and add the potatoes which
have been halved so that their ends stand up through the gravy. Bake at 350 degrees F (170 degrees C) for about 2 hours until the top of the potatoes
brown. Serve with carrots and beans. |
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Cornish Salt Pork with Pease Pudding
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| Remove all the fat from the pork and cut into cubes of
about ¾ inch (20mm) square then soak in brine for 12 to 24 hours. Remove and thoroughly
wash several times before shaking with mustard. This not only keeps the meat moist but
also acts as a tenderiser. The meat with all the other ingredients should be placed in a
large saucepan and just covered with water. Slowly bring to the boil and then simmer for 2
hours. Fresh vegetables can be added ¾ hour before the meat is ready or they can be
cooked separately, however the traditional accompaniment for Salt Pork is Pease Pudding. |
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Pease Pudding
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| The peas should be soaked in water overnight then
drained. Place in a saucepan and add the onion, bacon and seasoning with sufficient water
to reach ½in (12mm) above the peas. Slowly bring to the boil and simmer for 2 to 2½
hours stirring occasionally. Just before serving add the butter and finally the sauce.
Pease Pudding should have a puree consistency and if too sloppy raise the heat quickly to
reduce the moisture. |
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Crab
Pie
Dress the crabs (or get your fishmonger to do it) keeping the brown meat and claw meat separate. Mix the brown meat with the nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and claret and set aside. Butter a pie dish and put in the artichoke bottoms. On the artichoke bottoms put the chopped eggs then the spiced brown crab meat. On top of this put the grapes and asparagus tips. Add salt and pepper and the orange juice. Now spread the Cornish cream on and into this press all the crab claw meat. Roll out the pastry and cover the pie dish with it pressing the edges down to seal ( the pie dish must be of a size which is just filled to the top with the ingredients). Brush the pastry with the egg yolk and bake at 450F, 230C Gas 8 for 25 minutes and serve immediately with a cold crisp white wine, preferably from a Cornish vineyard. |
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Herb PastyThis is a traditional Cornish recipe. The meat and potato varieties of Cornish pasties are the most well-known, but traditionally all sorts of fillings were put in pasties, including vegetable ones.
Chop and scald a quantity of well-washed parsley, watercress and spinach. Cut up finely either some shallots or leeks. Make the pastry and roll it out until it is about a quarter of an inch thick. Cut it into rounds, using a saucer or a small plate as a template. Use the herb mixture for filling, placing an appropriate amount of filling on one half of each circle of pastry. Put a knob of butter on top. Dampen the edges of the pastry with water, then fold over the other half of the circle, to form a pasty shape. Press the edges together with the fingers and crimping to seal, except at one point. Pour a little beaten egg in at this point, then seal that bit too. Make 2 or 3 ventilating slits in the top of the pasty, brush with milk or egg if you want a glaze, and bake in a hot oven 450F until the pastry is pale brown, then reduce the heat to medium (350F) for about 40 minutes. |
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Licky PastyAnother traditional Cornish recipe. "Licky" is another word for "leek".
Prepare the leeks by removing the dark green heads, and slicing the remainder, then washing thoroughly in cold water to remove any grit. Make the pastry and roll it out until it is about a quarter of an inch thick. Cut it into rounds, using a saucer or a small plate as a template. Use the leeks for filling, placing an appropriate amount of filling on one half of each circle of pastry. Put a knob of butter on top and season with salt and pepper. Dampen the edges of the pastry with water, then fold over the other half of the circle, to form a pasty shape. Press the edges together with the fingers and crimp to seal. Make 2 or 3 ventilating slits in the top of the pasty, brush with milk or egg if you want a glaze, and bake in a hot oven 450F until the pastry is pale brown, then reduce the heat to medium (350F) for about 40 minutes. |
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Star Gazy Pie
Clean and bone the fish, leaving the heads on, and season with salt and pepper. Butter a pie dish, sprinkle with a thick layer of breadcrumbs and put in the fish so that the heads point upwards. Beat the eggs with the tarragon or cream and pour into the pie dish. Cover the dish with pastry, making slits for the fish heads to gaze out of the top. Put into a very hot oven then reduce, after 10 minutes, to moderate and bake until the crust is golden brown. Serve hot with a sprig of parsley in the mouth of each fish. |
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Potato Cakes(This is a traditional Cornish recipe)
Peel the potatoes, chop into 1" cubes, and boil until soft in lightly salted water. Drain potatoes, mash with a little milk and season with salt and white pepper. Leave to cool. In a bowl, rub the margarine into the flour, until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the (cool) mashed potatoes, and mix well. With floury hands, form the mixture into patty shapes the size of burgers, and fry in a little butter in a frying pan, turning halfway through. Delicious served with a little butter on top. (These can be frozen easily after forming into patty shapes. Flash freeze on trays, then gather up into bags later. Easy to make a lot in advance and then just pull out whenever you want a fry-up.) (makes about 8) |
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Port Navas Oyster Soup
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| Prepare the fish stock by boiling fish and fish
bones in water for ½ hour. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan. When melted stir in the flour and add
the strained fish stock then bring to the boil stirring all the time. Add most of the
cream, retaining a little to mix with the egg yolks, plus the juice from the oysters. Season to taste. Bring back to the boil, then strain into a tureen and just before
serving add the oysters and the egg yolks which have been whipped with the remaining
cream. Stir vigorously. Decorate the top with a dash of cayenne pepper. |
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Pilchard and Leek Pie
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| Remove the coarse outer leaves from the leeks,
wash and cut into equal lengths of about 2 inches (50mm). The leeks should be scalded
in boiling water for two minutes then removed and allowed to drain. When dry they should
be laid along the bottom of a pie dish which has already been lined on the bottom and
sides with pastry. Four salted pilchards, previously soaked in salt water for 24 hours,
should be washed and placed along side the leeks. The pastry cover should be loosely
applied and glazed and the pie baked in a moderate oven at 300 to 325 degrees F (130 to
160 degrees C) for fifty minutes. When cooked remove the top crust and drain off the gravy
replacing it with the cup of heated cream. |
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Marinated
Pilchards
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| Remove the heads, tails and fins from the
gutted fish and wash them thoroughly in cold water. Rub pickling spice into the inside of
the belly and place a bay leaf inside. Place the fish in an open pie dish and season with
pepper and salt, then pour over the cold tea and add sufficient vinegar wine to cover each
fish. Leave to stand for 4 to 6 hours before sprinkling a little brown sugar over them.
Cover the dish with foil or grease-proof paper and bake in an oven at 300 degrees F (150
degrees C) for 30 minutes or until the bones become soft. When cool drain off the fluid
and replace with fresh vinegar wine and allow to stand for 24 hours. |
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Cornish Cherry Choclets
Preheat oven to 220C (425F, GM7). Grease baking trays lightly. Mix well together in a large bowl the margarine, sugar and syrup. Add the flour, baking powder, cherries and chocolate chips. Mix thoroughly. The dough should be slightly crumbly and just holding together when you squeeze it. Press walnut-sized balls onto baking trays, and bake in the oven for 8 minutes (until just starting to turn brown). (makes approximately 70). |
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Cornish Cinnamon Cake
Beat the egg whites until firm froth is obtained and then stir in the castor sugar, then the butter and finally the sifted flour, mixing it lightly all the time. When mixed add sufficient powdered cinnamon to obtain the desired colour. pour the mixture into a well buttered cake tin and bake for 45 minutes in a pre-heated medium to hot oven about 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). |
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Cornish Fairings(Traditional recipe)
Sieve together the flour, salt, spices, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Rub in the butter, and add the sugar. Spoon the syrup in to a cup, stand in shallow water in a pan and heat gently until soft. Pour the liquid syrup onto the other ingredients and work in thoroughly. With floury hands, roll the mixture into small balls and place on a greased baking tray, well spaced out. Bake at 400F, moving the biscuits from the top to the bottom shelf of the oven the moment they being to brown. |
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Cornish Splits
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| 1½lb (680gm) flour 4oz (110gm) butter 1oz (25gm) lard |
1oz (25gm) yeast ½ teaspoon sugar ¼ pint (140ml) warm water |
¼ pint (140ml) milk cream jam |
Put the yeast, sugar and 1 teaspoon flour in a basin, pour on the warm water, mix well and leave in a warm place for 15 minutes. Sieve the flour into a large basin and leave in a warm place. Heat the milk gently, add the lard and butter, leave to melt. Make a well in the middle of the flour and gradually pour in the yeast water and the warmed milk, and butter and lard, mixing all into a soft dough. Leave in a warm place for 1½ hours to rise. Knead for 4 minutes, roll out ½in (12mm) thick. Cut in pieces and form into small balls about the size and shape of a tangerine or small rissole. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve cold, split in half, filled with Cornish clotted cream and jam, especially raspberry.
| 8 oz self-raising flour | 1 oz candied peel | |
| 4 oz lard or margarine | 2 oz sugar | |
| 4 oz currants | 1/2 pt milk | |
| 1/2 tsp mixed spice | (beaten egg to glaze) |
Rub the fat in the flour, then add the currants, sugar, peel and mixed spice. Add sufficient milk to make into a soft dough. Roll out to half an inch thickness and cut to shape with a round cutter. Brush with beaten egg to glaze and bake at about 350F for 10 to 15 minutes. These are nice split and spread with butter. (Serves 4)
This is a traditional Cornish recipe. The "figs" refer to the Cornish common name for raisins.
| 8 oz suet | raisins | |
| 1 lb flour | milk | |
| 1 tsp salt | sugar | |
| 2 tsp baking powder |
Mix together the suet, flour, salt and baking powder. Add water gradually, to form a dry elastic dough. Knead lightly, then roll out to about 1/2" thick. Sprinkle on two handfuls of raisins, roll them in lightly with a rolling pin. Fold up, like a jam suet pudding, sealing the ends. Criss-cross the top with a knife, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Serve hot.
Heavy Cake
This is E. Doreen Lewis' recipe for 'Heavy Cake'. With thanks to Dean Lewis.
| 2 cups flour | 1 cup mixed raisins and currants | |
| 4 tablespoon sugar | salt | |
| 5 oz. butter and lard mixed | milk to mix |
Sift flour with a pinch of
salt. Rub in fat roughly. Mix in sugar and fruit. Add milk to
make a fairly soft dough. Roll out into an oval shape about three-quarters
of an inch thick. Score the top both ways in a lattice pattern. Bake at 400
degrees for about 30 minutes. Cut into
squares while hot.
Saffron Cake
| 8oz (225gm) flour 3-4oz (85-110gm) butter or margarine 6oz (170gm) sugar |
1 egg 1 gill (140ml) warm water packet saffron pinch salt |
3oz (85gm) seedless raisins ¼oz (15gm) yeast 1oz (25gm) candied peel |
Whortleberry
Pie
(Ys du)
| Whortleberries (can be picked on the moors in late summer when ripe |
Sugar | Shortcrust pastry Cornish cream |
Yeast Buns
| 1 oz yeast | 4 oz currants | |
| 1/4 pint warm milk | 1 lb plain flour | |
| 2 oz lard | 2 oz sugar | |
| 1 level teaspoon salt |
Mix fat, flour, salt and sugar together by rubbing in. Add currants and yeast mixture then knead all together with warm milk and let it rise to twice its size. Next make little round buns and let rise again. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in medium oven (400 deg. F. )
| 1 cup black treacle |
| 2 cups Plymouth Gin |
Warm the treacle slightly then stir in the gin until both are well mixed. Now beat furiously for 5 minutes.
Cornish Burnt Cream
| 1½pints (850ml) thick custard 1pint (570ml) clotted cream |
4 egg whites Citron powder |
Castor sugar |
Cornish Mead
| 3lbs (1360gm) clear honey 1oz (28gm) yeast |
1 gallon (4.55l) water 2 lemons |
2 oz (56gm) root ginger Rosemary sprig |
The water should be boiled for 30 minutes then the honey stirred in and the mixture simmered for a further hour. Remove any scum produced with a wooden spoon. The ginger should first be bruised and tied in a muslin bag along with the rosemary. This is added to the fluid along with the juice and rind of the lemons. When the fluid has cooled to luke-warm add the yeast and stir. Cover the vessel and stand in a warm place removing the muslin bag and floating lemon peel after 5 days but allow the mixture to ferment for a further 6 days. Strain with a cloth sieve and bottle, leaving the corks loose initially but when the gas production ceases tighten home. It should be kept bottled for at least two months before drinking.
This drink was traditionally drunk by newly married couples for a month after the wedding hence the term 'honeymoon'.
| ½pint Mint leaves | 3tbls Hot water | ½pint Apple juice | |
| Juice of 2 lemons | 1 pint Ginger Ale |
For other sources of Cornish recipes see my
Cornish Links Directory page.
| © Alan Richards 1997 - 2008 | Last updated - 25 February, 2008 | Web page design by 'Sounds Exciting' |
