50+ Lifestyles

 Traditional Pasty

Pasty – pronounced past – ee – is a baked pastry usually associated with Cornwall, United Kingdom. The traditional Cornish Pasty is a filled pie crust with beef, sliced or diced potato, swede (diced turnip or rutabaga) onion and salt and pepper to season. Pasties are well known in Michigan, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota. In the U.S. it was a hot meal sent with the miners to have in the cold, damp copper mines up near Lake Superior.

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The crust:

Your favorite pie-crust recipe, or pre-made pie crusts. (My favorite is a recipe that
calls for lard as the shortening.)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted (some extra when rolling out crust)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup lard shortening

1 cup cold water

Filling:

1 pound meat (boneless round or chuck cut in 1 inch cubes or a coarse ground beef)

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 1/2 cups cubed rutabaga or turnip (swede)
salt and pepper to taste

6 tablespoons butter

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, grease the baking sheet. However, if you do much baking, you will love the ease of parchment paper (and there is no expiration date on it so you can store it from
season to season)

Crust:

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with water and begin working the dough. Continue until all the water is added and the dough can be shaped into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.

Filling:

In a large bowl, combine meat, potatoes, swede and onion. Season

Roll out and fill dough:

Divide dough into six sections and shape into balls. On a slightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6-inch round. Place approximately 1 cup of filling mixture on one half of the round. Pull the other half up over the filling to form a 1/2 circle shape. Crimp the edges to seal in filling. Slit top with knife or prick with a fork. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat 4 more times. Bake in preheated oven for an hour.

Serve hot with a condiment sauce of your choice. Tomato-based sauces like Bar-B-Que or a salsa are the most common. It is also delicious with a cranberry sauce.

 Simple Chicken Egg Rolls

Spring Roll or Egg Roll – a Southeast Asian or Chinese filled and rolled flat bread pastry. The kind of wrappers, fillings, and cooking techniques used, as well as the name, vary considerably within this large area, depending on the region’s culture. We call them Egg Rolls and associate them with Chinese-American cuisine.

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Wrappers:

I use pre-made egg roll wrappers, flour tortilla
wrappers will work. Here is a recipe for homemade wheat flour wrappers if you feel creative. Prepare in advance.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon cold water

Sift flour in medium bowl and make a well in the center. Place beaten egg and water in well. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth dough has formed. Sprinkle more water if necessary. Knead until elastic and pliable. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.

On slightly floured surface, roll dough into 14 X 14 in square. Cut into 12 equal rectangles. Approximately 3.5 inches by 4.6 inches. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Chicken filling:

3 cups shredded, cooked chicken

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

4 scallions (whites and greens) finely chopped

2 cups shredded carrots

2 cups shredded cabbage

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Directions:

In a mixing bowl, toss chicken with the ginger and garlic seasoning. Add vegetables and mix well. Set aside

In a large, deep skillet heat oil to about 375 degrees F or medium high heat. While oil is heating, whisk flour and water in a bowl until they form a paste.

On your work surface, lay out one pastry roll skin with a corner pointed toward you. Place about 1/4 to 1/3 cup meat/vegetable mixture above the corner. Now lift the corner up over the mixture. Fold the left and right corners in to the center, over the mixture and roll toward the far corner. Brush a bit of the flour paste on the corner edge to seal. Repeat with the remaining squares.

Place rolls in hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown. When golden brown, remove from the oil and place on paper towels or a baking rack to drain.
They are now ready to serve with your favorite soy, sweet and sour, or plum sauce.

Chorizo, Potato and Queso Burrito

Burrito and Enchilada – a type of Mexican and Tex-Mex food consisting of a large wheat or corn and tortilla with a filling, wrapped into a closed-ended cylinder. They look similar, but there is a difference. Burritos are made with the flour tortilla, often steamed and grilled slightly to soften it. In Mexico, only meat and refried beans are the filling, but in the United States there is an array of fillings; Mexican style rice or plain rice, beans or refried beans, lettuce, salsa, meat, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, olives and peppers. They can be eaten without utensils. Enchiladas are made with the corn tortilla and filled with meat, beans, cheese, potatoes, vegetables or any combination of these. They are covered with a chili pepper sauce and baked. Because they are smothered in sauce, the need to be eaten with utensils.

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12 oz fresh Mexican chorizo ( a spicy Spanish pork sausage) with the casings removed – coarse ground beef or meat mixture
may be substituted

1 1/2 cups queso (a creamy, soft and mild unaged white cheese)

6 burrito size wheat tortillas

1 green poblano pepper, cleaned and diced (this is a mild pepper, green bell pepper may be substituted)

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

6 – 8 small red potatoes

1 Tablespoon oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

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Directions:

Rinse potatoes and pierce them with a fork. Place them on a microwave safe plate and microwave for about 5 minutes to get the cooking process started. (Alternate method – Place in saucepan, cover with water, bring to boil, then cover the pan, remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes)

Once the potatoes are partially cooked, cut them into small cubes. In a large skillet, begin browning the meat and breaking it up. After cooking for a few minutes, add the diced pepper and onion.

Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through and the peppers and onions are tender. Remove the mixture from the pan.

Adjust the heat to medium –high and add the tablespoon of oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the cubed potatoes, salt and pepper. When the potatoes are lightly browned and completely cooked (about 8 – 10 minutes) add the meat mixture. Stir in the cilantro.

When heated through, remove the mixture from the pan into a bowl Wipe the pan with a paper towel. Now reduce the heat to medium-low and heat the tortillas. Heat one at a time, for about 20 seconds per side. Using skillet to heat the tortillas provides better results than using the microwave.

Begin filling the burrito with about 3/4 cup of the meat/potato mixture. Top with warm queso, and then roll up.

Serving suggestion: cut the burrito in half on a diagonal.

Classic Chicken Pot Pie

Pot Pies – an American dish of a flaky double-crusted meat and vegetable pie. Common fillings include meat and mixed vegetables. The meat can be beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, or wild game. Vegetables often include potatoes, peas, carrots, green beans and corn. This is an excellent recipe to add any tidbits of leftovers you might have. Some variations do not have a bottom crust.

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Crust:

Pie crust dough for two crusts for a 9 inch pie pan. For this recipe, Betty Crocker suggests using 1 package (15 oz) refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on the box.

Pie filling:

1/3 cup butter 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup chopped onion 1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 1/2 to 3 cups cut-up cooked chicken or turkey

1 box (10 oz) frozen peas and carrots

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Directions:

In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and ilk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute. Stir in chicken and peas and carrots; remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll one pie crust into a 13 inch round. Ease into a 9 inch pie pan. Pour chicken mixture into the crust-lined pie pan. Roll remaining pie crust into an 11 inch round. If you want, you can use a 1 inch cookie cutter and cut a few designs in the crust. Place the top crust over the chicken mixture.

Arrange the cut out pieces in the top. Or you can just slit the crust to allow the steam to escape while baking. Turn pie crust edges under and flute. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Let set at least 10 minutes before serving.

Potato Knish

Knish – an Eastern European snack food of Jewish tradition, consisting of a filling covered with dough that is either baked, grilled or deep fried. Eastern European immigrants who arrived sometime around 1900 brought knishes to North America. The first knish bakery in America was founded in 1910. In the early 2000s, the United States underwent a knish revival with many bakeries opening up across the country. Knishes can be round, rectangular or square. They may be entirely covered with dough or some of the filling may peek out the top. Sizes range from those that can be eaten in single bite hors d’oeuvre to sandwich size.

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Dough:

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil plus a little extra for rolling out the dough

1 cup water 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon white vinegar 4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

4 large onions sliced

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/2 lbs russet (baking) potatoes (salt to taste)

1 large egg

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

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Directions:
Beat the 2 eggs and reserve about 1 Tablespoon for a glaze. Mix the rest of the eggs with the oil, water, vinegar and salt. Add the flour gradually, beating first with a spoon and eventually your hands as you knead the dough.

Continue to add enough flour to make a smooth dough. Shape into four balls and let rest, covered with a cloth for about an hour.

Slowly cook the onions in the oil in a skillet, covered, over low heat. Let the onions “sweat” for about twenty minutes, or until they are soft. Then remove the cover and fry over medium heat until golden brown. Don’t drain.

Meanwhile peel the potatoes and cut them in quarters. Put them in a large pot filled with cold salted water. Bring to boil, turn down heat, cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool for 5 minutes. Mash the potato with the egg, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the onions with the oil and mix well with your hands.

Now, to assemble: Roll each ball of dough out as thin as possible into a flat rectangle. Flour well and place between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Using your hands carefully stretch the rectangle to about 12 – 14 inches long and 4 – 5 inches wide.

Spread about one quarter of the filling onto approximately one third of the flattened dough, leaving a one inch border. Holding on to the waxed paper, roll the dough like you would a jelly roll. Brush oil across the top a couple of times as you roll. Using the side of your hand like a knife, divide the roll into 2-inch knishes. Then pinch the ends shut.

Repeat with the remaining balls of dough and filling. Place the knishes flat side down on a greased cookie sheet allowing about 2 inches apart. You will need to bake in batches. Mix the reserved tablespoon of egg with a little water.

Brush the tops with the egg wash and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

[Ella can be contacted at ellaweeza@yahoo.com or Ella – 50+ Lifestyles, 804 W Lombard Street, Davenport, IA, 52804]