Cornish Pasties

4 cups ( 500 g ) plain flour
Good pinch of salt
250 g cooking margarine
3/4 cup water

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in margarine with fingertips. Make into a dough with water. Knead lightly with little extra flour and rest half an hour before rolling.

Prepare one of the filling below. Roll out pastry thinly and cut into 12 to 14 cm rounds using a small saucer as a guide.

Pile up a heaped tablespoon of the filling, or as mush as the pastry will hold, in the centre of each round.

Dampen edges of the pastry and join together at the top, pinching together in a cook’s comb ‘ frill. Alternately fold over in a half centre and seal edges by pressing with a fork.

Place on to greased baking trays and bake in a hot oven at 225 * C or 420 * F for half an hour.

250 g minced steak ( or use tiny cubes of lamb or beef )
1 small white onion, peeled
1 medium carrot, peeled
1 medium turnip, peeled
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled
1/2 level teaspoon salt
Freshly cracked pepper

Put meat, grated onion, carrot, turnip into a bowl. Add potatoes chopped into tiny cubes, then salt and pepper. Mix well.

2 level tablespoons butter
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 onion, peeled and sliced
500 g lamb ( from leg ) , minced
1 medium - sized potato, peeled and diced into tiny cubes
1/2 level teaspoon each cinnamon and black pepper
Good pinch allspice
1/2 level teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vinegar

2 level tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan and gently fry pine nuts until gold ( watch carefully as they burn easily ) remove nuts and wipe out the pan with a paper towel.

Heat remaining butter in pan, add sliced onion and saute gently until soft.

Place nuts and onion into a basin. Add lamb, potato and spices, salt , lemon juice, vinegar and herbs. Mix well.