Squash Chilli Chard Feta Pasties: A Vegetarian Take on a Cornish Pasty
This recipe for squash chilli chard feta pasties makes for perfect autumnal comfort food. It’s a vegetarian take on a traditional Cornish pasty. So it’s filled with colourful seasonal veg and a bit of spice to keep out the chill. The pastry is really easy to prepare and makes them a joy to put together.
Great Western Railway
Growing up in a far flung part of the country, the railway was a bit of a lifeline to the civilised world. Back along, the roads weren’t so good and leaving Cornwall was not for the faint hearted. Thankfully, we’ve always had a mainline train service that carried us up to Plymouth, Exeter and even London.
Three cheers for Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his Great Western Railway! We were able to visit geographically distant relatives in East Anglia and Scotland without too much trouble, thanks to the train. We also got to take in some pretty gorgeous countryside on the way.
This is all well and good, but what’s this got to do with pasties you may be wondering? Well, Great Western Railway (GWR) challenged me to make a Cornish Pasty to mark the Great Cornish Food Festival (GCFF) last month.
GWR serve a variety of Cornish and other South West products on their trains. It was also the key sponsor for this year’s GCFF. This is a not to be missed event in the Cornish food calendar. If you follow me on social media, you’ll know I made the trip down to Truro to ‘get the vibe”. For a taste of what it was like, take a look at CT’s fabulous guest post on a previous year’s festival.
Great Cornish Food Festival
Great Western Railway sent me a hamper with some of the aforementioned products, which CT and I made short shrift of. I found Cornwall’s very own home grown tea from the Tregothnan Estate, a packet of Mr Filbert’s mixed nuts with Cornish Sea Salt and a lovely box of homemade Cornish fairings along with some saffron cakes.
Amongst the other goodies, I was pleased to see two bottles of sparkling drinks from our favourite ginger beer maker, Luscombe. There was also a bottle of Admiral’s Ale which made a fine accompaniment to our pasties.
I also unpacked a GWR apron and a copy of Mitch Tonks’ My Little Black Book of Seafood. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with the latter, but I’m sure I’ll find a home for it.
Cornish Pasties
So to the pasty. A traditional Cornish pasty is a pastry case filled with a cheap cut of beef steak, onion, floury potatoes and swede. This last is usually referred to as turnip in these ‘ere parts.
Back in the day, the pasty had a ridged seal running along the top. This acted as a disposable handle for the miners so they could eat the pasty without contaminating it with the toxic metals on their hands.
As I’m a vegetarian, making such a pasty is out for me, though CT and my mother would be delighted if I did.
Squash Chilli Chard Feta Pasties
As it’s pumpkin season, I reckoned I’d make some vegetarian squash chilli chard feta pasties – proper job! What a good idea that was. I’d already gone completely off piste with the challenge, so I thought I’d make my ab fab flaky pastry once again. It’s just too good not to use.
My one concession to the Cornish nature of the pasty was to make the pastry ridge across the top rather than along the side. This is much trickier to get right. So, I approached the business of filling with due care and attention and luckily pulled it off. Nevertheless, I insisted CT wash his hands before eating one. ‘Tis a pasty, but not as we know um, Jago”.
We had the pasties hot for our main meal with a good serving of steamed kale. They were delicious. In fact we enjoyed them for dinner two days running. The remaining two I’ve put in the freezer where they’re waiting to be eaten at some future date. Can’t wait!
Other Recipes for Pasties and Hand Pies You Might Like
- Mini mushroom pies
- Jam turnovers
- Spanakopita with wild greens
- Spinach, goat’s cheese and chocolate filo pastries
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. IIf you make these squash, chill chard feta pasties, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Squash, Chilli & Chard Feta Pasties. PIN IT.
Squash Chilli Chard Feta Pasties – The Recipe
Squash, Chilli and Chard Feta Pasties
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium sized butternut squash about 500g flesh – cut into small cubes
- 3 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1 red chilli seeds kept in or out depending on how hot you like your food – finely chopped
- 10 fresh sage leaves finely chopped
- 1 bunch chard about 250g – stalks finely sliced and greens roughly chopped
- 1 dash tamari (affiliate link) or pinch of sea salt
- good grinding of black pepper
- 200 g feta cheese
- a few drops of lemon juice
Pastry
- 125 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 125 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 150 g unsalted butter
- pinch Cornish sea salt
- 3 tbsp natural yoghurt
Instructions
Filling
- Fry the pumpkin with the olive oil in a large pan for 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic, chilli and sage and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add the chard stalks and stir fry for another couple of minutes, then add the chard greens, tamiri and pepper.
- Put a lid on the pan and cook gently for 5 minutes. You may need a splash of water if it’s looking too dry.
- Take off the heat, allow to cool, then crumble in the feta cheese, add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir.
Pastry
- Cut the butter into the flour and salt, then either rub between your finger tips or pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the yoghurt with a knife until the mixture comes together into a ball.
- Cover and leave to rest in the fridge or a cool place for ½ hr.
- Roll out on a floured surface to about 2mm thick.
- Cut into 6 circles using a 17cm side plate as a guide, gathering the unused bits and re-rolling as necessary.
- Place a couple of heaped tbsp of the filling in the middle of the circles and bring the sides up around it to meet in the middle. You want a well stuffed pasty, so add a little more filling if you think it can take it. Crimp the pastry together with your fingers in true Cornish fashion.
- Place on a buttered baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6) for 20-25 minutes when the pastry should be golden on top and crisp underneath.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Linkies
I’m sending these squash, chilli chard feta pasties off to Jac at Tinned Tomatoes for Meat Free Mondays.
As it happens, I managed to pack a fair amount of veg into these pasties. So I’m sharing the recipe with Extra Veg. This is hosted at Veggie Desserts this month.
The pasties provided three days worth of meals for the two of us, so I’m sharing them with Cook Once Eat Twice over at Searching for Spice.
Disclaimer: I was sent a hamper of snacks and a shopping voucher in order to buy the ingredients needed for this recipe. I was not required to write a positive review and as always, all opinions are my own.
Hello! Thanks for this recipe. I’m making them right now! Just checking that the pastry recipe mentions cinnamon and there isn’t any in the ingredients list, also what temp oven? Thanks!!
Hi Cary. So sorry. The temperature should be 200C and I’ve absolutely no idea about the cinnamon. I’m wondering if it should even be there. I’d be inclined to omit that bit and I shall go and amend the recipe right now.
If you got my earlier reply, please ignore oven temp. Should be 200C.
I’m about to make these again – one of our favourite recipes as I always have a mountain of rainbow chard in the potager! Today though, I’ll be using chèvre, not feta
Gosh, thanks for reminding me about these. It’s hard to keep up with my own recipes sometimes. So glad you like them and chèvre sounds like a mighty fine swap.
I love these, packed with good things as well as a spelt pastry. Delicious! Thanks for sharing with #ExtraVeg
Thanks Helen. I’ve still got a couple squirrelled away in the freezer and that makes me feel good 😉
I wish they sold cornish pasties like these on trains – I usually take my own food as I am a bit suspicious of what might be on offer. I’ve never tried the crimping on the top rather than the side – can imagine it is a challenge but will have to try it if I get some time
Oh yes, I’m with you there Johanna. The other thing about a pasty is they are hopeless if warmed up in a microwave, they need to come from an oven so the pastry is crisp.
Wow, I’d never heard of a pasty until right now! They look sooooooo delicious! I love the use of the squash!
Thanks Trish. Pasties are really big in the UK and especially so in Cornwall 🙂
I love your gourmet pasty! It sounds fantastic. Thanks for enterine #ExtraVeg!
Ooh gourmet pasties? I hadn’t quite thought of them like that, but I like it 🙂
My eyes ZOOMED into those pasties and POPPED! Gorgeous and simple to make too. Perfect recipe!
Thanks Levan. I’ve now got your popping eyes in my head – just about right with Halloween coming up 😉
I am loving the filling, I bet the pumpkin and salty feta are perfect together.
I love a good Cornish pasty.
I went to university in Exeter and we used to have a pasty van that would set up by the nightclub on a Monday night.
Yum 🙂
Haha Claire, I bet that pasty van did a roaring trade 🙂
This will probably be part of my Halloween Menù, wow!!!!
They would be fab for Halloween Claudia. Let me know how you get on.
Great flavour combo!! Looks fantastic!
Thanks Cassandrea 🙂
These look like proper traditional pasties… but I love the creativeness of the filling!
Thanks Kacie. Now I realise they aren’t too difficult to make, there will be no stopping me 😉
These sound delicious! I love a good pasty and often find I prefer vegetarian ones anyway. Thank you so much for linking up with #CookOnceEatTwice
Thanks Corina, I usually go for a cheese and onion pasty if eating out, but these are even better 😉
Ha! That made me giggle, and I reckon this would taste just as good as the best steak pasty in the county 🙂
Janie x
Ah thank you. I can’t vouch for that, but CT said he enjoyed it just as much as he would have done a steak pasty, but I guess he had to say that!
I’ve not made any pasties for ages and now you’ve psyched me up to have a bash using dairy free pastry and maybe some soya mince. I always love the story about the crinkly bit being because of the tin miners!
Dairy free pastry might be my next challenge Sarah. I only found a fail safe pastry recipe about a year ago, so finding a dairy free one might be the next step.
How delicious, pumpkins would make great pasties. Some lovely looking goodies in your hamper too.
Janice, pumpkins DID make delicious pasties 😉
they look damn fine but isn’t it a little like sending coals to Newcastle? ;0)
Haha Dom. I can honestly say I’ve never found a pasty in Cornwall quite like this one 😉
Nice one!
Thank you Liz. Enjoying making pastry is relatively new for me, but now there’s no stopping me 😉
I love Cornish pastry, they turned out so yummy!
Thank you Manu – you’ve tried everything 😉
How lovely! That filling looks so scrummy, great combination of flavours, and I’m a recent spelt flour convert so these are right up my street! Can’t beat a good pasty. Thanks for linking to my cheese & onion pasties!
Thanks Kate. I used to hate making pastry until I started using this recipe. It’s just so easy to use and always turns out beautifully flaky. Spelt is such a lovely flour – I’ve been using it for years.
What a great way to use pumpkin. I love the swiss chard in this too.
Thanks Dannii. Chard is a much underrated vegetable I reckon.
I love this seasonal pumpkin cheese filling even more, Choclette. These look scrumptious.
Thanks Angie. The main alternative down here are cheese and onion pasties, but I think mine are just a little bit better 😉
Those look wonderful – such delicious autumn flavours.
Thanks Helen. I have to say they were scrumptious. Luckily, I put a couple in the freezer, so there are more to enjoy.
Oh how lovely, the colours are wonderful, the pastry looks delicious. That hamper looks good too. I must try that Cornish tea.
Now I’ve discovered my wonderful pastry Kath, there is no stopping me. It was a rare thing indeed for me to make before and as for pasties? No way. The only tea grown in the UK just has to be tried.
This looks a delicious version! You can’t ever beat a good traditional, but it’s nice to mix it up anyway 🙂
I popped along to the Food Festival and it was fab to see so many people and such great local produce!
Abel x
Ah, my mother would agree with you entirely Annabel, I think she is addicted to the true Cornish pasty. It was great to see the festival thriving and so much on offer.