Ham, potato and spinach pasty
Lighter than a normal pasty, these ham, new potato and spinach pasties are ideal in the summer or winter. They can be served hot or cold and go well with a pickle and salad in summer or baked beans in the winter.
SHORTCRUST PASTRY INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons of plain flour (for rolling out the pastry)
500g / 1lb 2oz block of shortcrust pastry
or
see this page for ingredients if you want to make your own shortcrust pastry
FILLING INGREDIENTS
125g / 4.5oz Cooked ham
170g / 6 oz New potatoes
2 Spring onions
1 Medium egg (to brush the pastry, seal it and brown it)
2 Level tablespoons butter
100g / 3½oz Baby spinach
1 level tablespoon mayonnaise
1 level traspoon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook the new potatoes in lightly boiling water for 20 minutes.
Chop the potatoes into small bite-sized chunks.
Cut the ham into small chunks / slices.
Slice the spring onions finely.
Lightly beat the egg.
When the potatoes have cooked, let them cool for 5 minutes then slice and chop.
Pre heat the oven to 190C / Fan 170C / 400F / Gas Mark 6.
There are two options with regard to the shortcrust pastry. You can make it yourself, and we give detailed instructions in the page here, or you can buy ready made pastry. Taste-wise you can't tell much difference between the two but obviously the ready made pastry is much more convenient.
The first step is to make the pastry if you are doing it yourself. We have full instructions on how to make shortcrust pastry here.
Roll out the pastry (homemade or ready made) to be approximately 3mm thick. As a guide, a one pound coin is 2.8mm thick. Use flour on the rolling surface and rolling pin to stop the pastry sticking.
Cut out the rolled out pastry into 15cm / 6in circles. A saucer makes a good template of approximately the correct size. This will give you a reasonable sized pasty although they can be larger or smaller.
Put the pastry circles in the fridge while you continue with the recipe. Storing the pastry circles in the fridge for a short time makes them much easier to form into a pasty when the filling is placed on them.
Uncooked Shortcrust Pastry
Add the butter to a frying pan on a medium heat. Let the butter melt then add the sliced onions and ham.
Fry for about five minutes turning the ingredients frequently until the onions begin to soften.
Frying ham and onions
Add the sliced potatoes and spinach and fry until the spinach has wilted. This takes about five minutes.
Add the mayonnaise , mustard, salt and pepper to taste, mix in well and then put the filling to one side to cool down for five minutes.
Frying pasty filling ingredients
Take the shortcrust pastry circles from the fridge and then place some of the filling onto each pastry. See the picture below to judge how much filling to add. It is tempting to overfill the pasty but don't. If you do, it make break open during the cooking.
Ensure that the filling is 2cm from the edge of one side of the pastry and 4cm away from the other side of the pastry. This will allow the pastry to be folded over the filling.
Filling for Ham, Potato and Spinach Pasty
Brush the edges of the pastry with the the whisked egg (or milk can be used instead) to help them seal during cooking. Form a pasty by pinching the edges of the pastry together.
STEP 5Brush the sides of the pasties with some of the whisked egg so that the pastry turns golden brown during cooking. The pasties should be on their sides rather than sat with the joined edges facing up. This will halp the past to stay closed.
Place the pasties on a baking tray lined with baking paper in the pre-heated oven and cook for 45 minutes until the pasty is golden brown. Turn the baking tray around half way through cooking to ensure the pasty is evenly cooked.
The pasties can be eaten hot or cold and will keep in the fridge for two days.
Ham, Potato and Spinach Pasty cooked