Beef & Vegetable Pasties

Ingredients

• 300 g beef mince
• 1 egg, beaten, for glaze
• 1 medium potato, peeled, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sheets ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Rocket and seed salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan and pull out a heavy stainless or cast-iron pan — you want stuck bits and proper colour, which a non-stick won't give you.
2. Season the mince generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan. Brown it in two batches over a medium-high heat for 5–6 minutes per batch, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. All at once and the pan crowds, water comes out, and you've boiled the meat instead of browning it — you want it deeply coloured with crisp, caught edges.
3. Return all the mince to the pan and add the potato, carrot and onion along with the Worcestershire sauce and tomato purée. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables soften at the edges and the mixture smells rich and savoury. Splash in 2–3 tablespoons of water to lift the fond off the base — those stuck bits are pure flavour and they'll glaze the filling as it cooks down.
4. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust now — at the end, not at the table. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool completely; a warm filling steams the pastry from the inside and you'll end up with a soggy base.
5. Unroll the pastry sheets and cut out 4 rounds using a bowl as a guide (about 18 cm diameter). Divide the cooled filling between them, heaping it onto one half and leaving a 2 cm border — overfill and they'll burst at the seam.
6. Brush the border with beaten egg, fold the pastry over to enclose the filling and press firmly to seal. Crimp the edge with your fingers or the tines of a fork — a proper seal is what keeps the gravy in.
7. Lift onto a lined baking tray, brush all over with beaten egg for that burnished mahogany finish, and snip a small steam hole in the top of each. Bake for 30–35 minutes until deeply golden and crisp, with the pastry shiny and the seams holding firm.
8. Rest for 5 minutes before serving — cut too early and the filling slides out. Plate the pasties, scatter the chopped parsley over the top, and serve with the cornichons and brown sauce alongside for dipping.