cheftallyrand's Articles

pasty taxes and who sells the best; a lot has been spoken of lately about the humble oggy. easy to make, cheap to shop for and a delight to smell as the baking aroma wafts through the whole household, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

what makes a great pasty? for me the answer is simple - a good pastry (I prefer a full butter puff pastry or a reall good short pastry) and the proportion of onion to meat to potato. The ratio I prefer is 1 to 4 to 8, in other words four times the amount of meat to onion and twice the amount of potato to meat (with swede added to taste, if preferred)

try these pasty rolls for something a little different. Why rolls? Simply because it is easier than crimping

for a brief history, the facts, the fiction, the legend that is a tiddy oggy click on the link below

http://www.dawlish.com/article/details/110

 (=[;-D

1. pre-heat oven to 200C
2. peel the washed potatoes, cut into 1/2 cm slices, cut slices into 1/2 cm strips and cut these into 1/2 cm dice, place into a bowl
3. add the mince to the potato
4. roughly chop the peeled onion and add to the bowl
5. season well with salt and lots of pepper
6. combine well with hands (making sure they have been scrubbed clean)
7. roll the pastry out on a lightloy floured surface until is a rectangle approx. 3mm thick. Too thin and they will be difficult to handle, too thick and the pastry might not cook fully
8. cut into four rectangles (making one vertical cut, one horizontal cut, like the St George Cross)
9. distribute the mixture evenly, laying it across the middle of each rectangle, leaving a 3-5 cm gap around the edges
10. brush these edges with milk
11. fold over the side edges of each to seal in the mix, then lift the closest edge over the mix and roll over to form a sausage roll / spring roll shape
12. place onto a lightly greased baking tray and cut a small slit in the pastry top (to allow excess steam to escape and prevent soggy pastry)
13. place into the pre-heated oven and turn the heat down to 170C
14. bake for approx 30 minutes
15. brush the pastry with some milk and continue to bake for approx another 15 to 20 minutes
16. remove from oven, allow to cool slightly and serve 

chef notes

• I prefer them as per the recipe, but diced carrot or swede may also be added 
• if a short pastry is your preferred choice, preheat oven to 180C only