Grandma's Cornish Pasties

I'm always trying to think of something new to make for dinner. You might think that with 25 cookery books I have new meals at my fingertips, but somehow I only start to think of supper around 3pm and then throw together the same old things. Today I looked in the fridge and saw some pieces of rump steak that, if I left them another day, would start to moo, and my grandmother's Cornish pasties came floating into my memory. She used to cut up steak, carrots, potatoes and onions and put it all, raw, inside pastry and cook it until brown and crisp, The inside was always cooked perfectly and the steak tender and moist. Right! That's what I will cook.

I started slicing the steak into tiny cubes of 1cm square, then some carrots and potatoes, sweet potato and onions, all neatly chopped into uniform chunks. While I was doing this, I sent my daughter up the road to the local food deli to buy the frozen puff pastry I always use - it's been years since I made any form of pastry myself, mainly because I'm supposed to avoid it - but she came back without any. Apparently not many people use pastry in Kommetjie, so they have stopped stocking it. They must have forgotten about me.

So there I have a large bowl of Cornish pasty filling and nothing to put it in. I would just have to roll up my sleeves and make it myself. With the aid of a food processor, the flour, salt, butter and iced water was blitzed in a jiffy and I even wrapped it in clingfilm and put in the fridge as required for good pastry. Half an hour later, it was time to take it out and roll it, as supper time loomed. To my delight, the pastry rolled without a stretch or a crack and in no time I had six rather large Cornish pasties ready to go into the oven.

Forty-five minutes later, they were slightly larger, a rich golden-brown colour and still intact. I sliced one open, and although there was no rich brown gravy oozing out (that is found in commercial pies only), the pasty proved to be a culinary success. Although they won't win any prizes in the appearance stakes, I can say that they were so simple to make, an absolute beginner chef would be successful, and practice will make perfect.

And on the up side, from fridge to dinner plate took an hour and three quarters. A winner in my book!