Pasties

Description
Pasties have made their way around the world. We can trace pasties to early days in England, but Nordic peoples developed them, as well.

Ingredients

 * 2 cups all-purpose flour
 * 2 cups self raising flour
 * 1/2 teaspoon salt
 * 8 ounces butter or margarine, diced
 * 1/2 cup cold water

Filling


 * 4 medium potatoes, peeled
 * 1 medium onion, peeled and diced finely
 * 1 beet, peeled
 * 1 turnip, peeled
 * 2 carrots, peeled
 * 1 small piece of pumpkin or squash
 * 1 pound premium grade ground meat (beef, pork or chicken

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pastry

Sift both flours together. Add salt and cut in diced butter or margarine. Blend with fingertips until consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add cold water gradually, mixing in with your hand, until you have a soft dough. Knead on a floured board gently, and cut into smaller portions for rolling.

Filling

Grate potatoes, beet, turnip, carrots and pumpkin, and mix well together in a very large bowl with the chopped onion. Add minced meat, season with salt and pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg-mix well with your hands until all ingredients are well combined.

Roll out one piece of the pastry to a fairly thin sheet. Using a large cutter, or an upturned saucer, make the pastry shapes. Peel away the pieces and put aside for use later. Place about a tablespoon or so of the filling onto each circle, brush the edges of the pastry with a little milk, and bring one half over onto the other edge. Press together either with a fork, or make a fancy edge with your fingers, and place onto a greased oven tray. Continue until all the pastry and filling is used up. Glaze the top of each pasty with a little beaten egg and water.

Bake at 350°F for 30 - 40 minutes.

Serve either hot or cold, with or without a wonderfully fruity sauce as an accompaniment.