Preheat the oven to 165c and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Roll out your shortcrust pastry and cut round a 20cm plate to make a circle of pastry. Lay out on a work surface dusted lightly with flour.
Repeat with the remaining pastry so you have 3 pastry circles.
Lay 1/3 of the potato, swede, onion and finally beef skirt on the centre of each circle. Aim to have the ingredients well spread out so as each bite gets a mix of flavours.
Add a small knob of butter on top of each pile of ingredients.
Season extremely well with salt and pepper.
This step is vital, please don't skimp!
You want to feel the heat from the black pepper as you eat your pasty.
Fold one pastry side over to meet the other, enveloping all the filling in.
If any bits stray, simply poke them back in.
Gently press the two edges together Gently but firmly.
Starting at one end, fold the very last inch of the pastry ’seam’ over itself.
Continue with this action to crimp the entire ‘seam’ together which will create a sealed edge along the pasty.
Lay out on the lined baking sheet, then brush generously with the egg wash.
There’s no need to pierce a hole in your pasty, try to keep the pastry intact if you can.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
Remove and devour hot, or let cool fully on a wire cooling rack before packing away in a lunch box.
Please enjoy my recipe! Jane | hedgecombers.com