The River Tamar marks the border of Devon with the county of Cornwall. In years gone by the Tamar was as much a cultural barrier as a geographic one; Cornwall was one of the last bastions of pre-Celtic culture in England. The original British inhabitants of the island were pushed back across the river by the encroaching Celts, and succeeding generations of Romans and Saxons isolated the Cornish inhabitants further.
It was not that long ago that Cornish maintained its own version of Gaelic language, and certainly Cornish folklore and customs remain one of the unique and attractive features that set the county apart from the rest of England.For the sake of simplification, Cornwall can be divided into two coasts, the south, with its warm breezes and semitropical air, and the rugged north coast, where the wind whips off the Atlantic onto rocky headlands and draws surfer-seekers and walkers like a magnet.
Local Recipes
Cornish Beef Pasties
These Cornish Beef Pasties are a classic, hearty hand pie filled with tender beef and vegetable filling
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- For the Pastry:
- 3 cups 375g all-purpose (plain) flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup 170g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 6 –8 tablespoons ice water
- For the Filling:
- 12 oz 340g beef chuck or sirloin, finely diced
- 1 medium russet potato peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- ½ cup diced rutabaga or turnip
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- For Assembly:
- 1 egg beaten (for egg wash)
Instructions
- Step 1: Make the Dough
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
- Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Gradually add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing gently until the dough comes together.
- Form into a disc, wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Step 2: Prepare the Filling
- In a bowl, combine diced beef, potato, onion, and rutabaga.
- Season with salt and black pepper.
- Toss everything together evenly.
- Step 3: Assemble the Pasties
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide chilled dough into 4 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into an 8–9 inch circle.
- Spoon filling onto one half of each circle, leaving a ½-inch border.
- Dot the filling with small pieces of butter.
- Fold the dough over to create a half-moon shape.
- Press edges together and crimp firmly to seal.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and brush tops with beaten egg.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Cornish Fairings
These crisp golden ginger biscuits are easy to make and are perfect for dunking!
INGREDIENTS
225 g plain flour
110 g caster sugar.
4 tablespoon golden syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon salt
110 g butter
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Put the dry ingredients, except the sugar, in a large mixing bowl. Mix the spices and flour
together thoroughly.
2. Put the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon
until the mixture has melted.
3. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Divide the dough into 18 balls and place 6 on each baking sheet. Place them about 10 cm or 3
inches apart to allow them to spread. Use the back of a fork or a glass to flatten the biscuits
slightly.
5. Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F / 180 FAN / Gas 6 and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden
brown.
6. Leave them to cool on the baking tray for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool
completely.
Cornish Heavy (Hevva) Cake
Its name is derived from the pilchard (silver sardines) industry in Cornwall prior to the 20th century when a 'huer' (cliff top lookout) helped locate shoals of fish. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the huer would shout 'Hevva!, Hevva!' to alert the boats to the location of the pilchard shoals. Cornish tradition states that Hevva cake was baked by the huers on their return to their homes, the cake being ready by the time the crews returned to land. Heva became hevva and later morphed into the anglicized version heavy. The texture of the cake itself is neither heavy nor spongy.
175g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ginger, cinnamon or mace (whichever you prefer)
40g granulated sugar
40g butter
40g lard
75g currants
25g mixed peel
2 tablespoons milk
Grease baking sheet.
Mix flour, salt, spice and sugar. Rub in fats.
Add milk to mix to a stiff dough. Roll out to about 1 cm thick and lift onto baking tray. Cut criss-cross pattern on top.
Bake 25-30 minutes at 190 degrees C until golden
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