On oggies

Thanks to my mum, I have two pasties in the fridge.

No, she didn't make them. I did. She just gave me the hints I needed to get them right.

Pastry: 8oz flour, 4oz butter, a pinch of salt and enough water.

Sift the flour into a bowl, grate the frozen butter into it (yes, that's right, the butter should be frozen; this is how my mum does it, and So Mote It Be), and use a spoon or similar to mix gently until all the shavings of butter are covered in flour. Add the salt and mix a bit more, then add the water slowly until the pastry comes together as a solid ball. Then, set it aside in the fridge for later. Doing it in the morning is a good idea.

Filling: enough good beef (skirt is best, decent steak is good enough, stewing steak tends not to be), a reasonable amount of finely chopped onion, a chunkily diced potato, and about as much diced swede (rutabaga, if you prefer) as you have potato.

Also needed: a beaten egg.

Roll out the pastry to thin and big enough (this recipe is for two good-sized pasties) and try to get it as close to circular as you can. You'll need to have floured the work surface. Now brush beaten egg around the edge, and then start filling: put a layer of onion, then swede, potato, and then meat on the half that's furthest from you, and then do it again. Now you want freshly ground black pepper, salt, and a pinch of flour and some butter. Now comes the tricky part: folding the thing closed. You'll need to stretch the pastry, and get it to meet around the edge. Now comes the crimp, which is something with a knack to it. You need to pull out the sealed edge and then roll it over on itself. Start from the right, and when you reach the left, fold the remainder over back towards the start. Now do all this again as many times as you're making pasties.

Finally, place the pasties on a greased baking sheet, cut a small slit in the top of each for ventilation, and brush them with beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 Fahrenheit, then reduce to 325 and give them another 40 minutes. Serve on their own, and enjoy!

Oggy is Cornish for pasty. The chant of "Oggy oggy oggy" is all the Cornish most people know, and some of those think it's Welsh or Australian. Which reminds me, I must have a word with Tappy...