These hearty steak-filled handheld pies became popular as a lunch food among the tin miners of Cornwall, England.

Ingredients: (Makes 4)

• 1 recipe basic crust, dough divided into 4 discs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
• ½ small swede, peeled and diced
• 455 g (1 lb) stewing beef, such as blade or chuck, diced
• ¼ teaspoon mace
• ¼ teaspoon English mustard powder
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the onion, potato and swede and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the beef and brown evenly. Reduce the heat, add the mace, mustard and salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the 4 discs of pastry dough. Using a pastry brush, glaze the top edge of each circle with lightly beaten egg. Spoon ¼ of the filling onto the center of the lower half of each circle. Fold the top half over, pressing the edges together to seal. Crimp the edges by twisting the pastry inwards from one side to the other, so a little knob of crust sticks out from one end of the pasty.

Place the pasties on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 175°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 and continue baking for 35 minutes, or until the filling is hot and the crust is golden brown.