Cheese and Onion Pasties for Picnics

Why Pasties Earn Their Place in the Picnic Basket

A good pasty is the most practical thing you can put in a picnic hamper. It travels without collapsing, tastes just as good at room temperature as it does straight from the oven, and needs no plate, cutlery or last-minute assembly. The Cornish version gets all the glory, but the cheese and onion pasty deserves equal billing — especially for anyone cooking without meat.

It is also remarkably cheap to make in quantity. A batch of eight costs very little more than a batch of four, and the filling is forgiving enough to take whatever odds and ends you have in the vegetable drawer. Make them on a quiet Sunday afternoon and you have packed lunches sorted for the week, with a few spare for the freezer.

The Filling: Cheese, Onion and a Little Restraint

For eight generous pasties, you will need roughly:

• 400g mature Cheddar, coarsely grated
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 300g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm dice
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp English mustard powder
• A few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked (optional but lovely)
• Salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper

Soften the onions in a knob of butter over a low heat for 15–20 minutes, until they are sweet, slippery and pale gold. Rushing this stage is the most common mistake, and it is the difference between a pasty that tastes rich and one that tastes sharp and raw. Meanwhile, parboil the diced potato for four to five minutes, drain it well and let it steam dry in the colander.

Combine everything in a bowl once cooled. The flour is not there to bulk things out: it thickens the cheese as it melts and stops the filling leaking through the pastry. The mustard powder does a similar job, cutting through the fat and sharpening the whole thing. Let the filling cool completely before it goes anywhere near the pastry — warm filling will soften the butter and turn your neatly crimped edge into a greasy mess.

Shortcrust That Holds Its Shape

A pasty needs a pastry with some backbone, so keep the fat generous and the handling brief. For eight pasties:

• 500g plain flour
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 250g cold unsalted butter, cubed — or 150g butter and 100g vegetable shortening for a shorter, sturdier crumb
• 1 egg yolk
• 4–6 tbsp ice-cold water

Rub the fat into the flour until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs, leaving a few pea-sized lumps for flakiness. Add the yolk and just enough water to bring it together into a firm dough — you want it to clump, not to stick to your hands. Wrap it flat and rest it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This rest matters more than people expect: it relaxes the gluten, so the pastry rolls without shrinking back and holds its crimp in the oven.

Shaping, Filling and Crimping

Roll the pastry to about 3mm thick on a lightly floured surface and cut 15cm circles — a small side plate makes a reliable template. Work with half the dough at a time and keep the rest chilled.

Place three tablespoons of filling slightly off-centre on each circle, leaving a clear 2cm border. Don't be tempted to pile it higher; an overfilled pasty splits. Brush the border with beaten egg or water, fold the pastry over, and press the edges together firmly to seal.

Now for the crimp. Working along the sealed edge, pinch a small section between thumb and forefinger and twist it back on itself, moving along the length in overlapping folds. It looks fiddly the first time and takes about four minutes once you have the rhythm. The reward is a sealed, decorative edge that survives a rucksack. Prick the top of each pasty once with a fork so steam can escape.

Baking for a Properly Golden Finish

Chill the assembled pasties for 20 minutes while the oven comes up to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6). Brush the tops with beaten egg — a second coat after the first has dried gives a deeper, glossier shine.

Bake on a lined tray for 25–30 minutes, until they are deep golden brown and you can hear the filling bubbling inside. If they are colouring too quickly, drop the temperature by 10°C and give them five minutes longer. Cool them on a wire rack rather than the tray, so the bases stay crisp instead of steaming.

They are excellent warm, but honestly better once fully cold — the flavour settles and the texture firms up, which is exactly what you want at a picnic.

Batch Baking, Freezing and Reheating

Pasties are ideal freezer fodder, and there are two sensible routes.

• Freeze unbaked: open-freeze the assembled pasties on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen at 180°C (160°C fan) for 45–50 minutes, brushing with egg before they go in.
• Freeze baked: cool completely, wrap individually, and freeze for up to three months. Reheat from frozen at 180°C for 20 minutes, or thaw overnight and warm for 10.

Freshly baked and unfrozen, they keep in the fridge for three days in an airtight tin or wrapped in greaseproof paper. A paper bag is better than cling film, which traps moisture and softens the crust.

For picnics, wrap each pasty in greaseproof paper and pack them snugly together in the bottom of the bag — they travel best when they have no room to rattle about. Add a tub of chutney, a bag of salad leaves and a flask of tea, and you have a proper British teatime spread with very little effort at all.