Potatoes in Pastry
Cooking Skills: Potatoes 2
Chapter 4 · Potatoes in Pastry
Skill goal
Put potato inside pastry so the filling stays hot, moist and inside.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Potato makes a good pastry filling because it is cheap, soft and takes on spices. The challenges are the same each time: keep the filling dry, seal the edge and cook the filling through.
| Pastry | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Puff (ready-rolled) | Turnovers | Rises and flakes; keep cold, bake hot |
| Shortcrust (ready-rolled) | Pasties, pies | Sturdy; handles a moist filling |
| Filo | Samosas | Crisp and light; dries out fast, keep covered |
| Mash lid | Mash-topped pie | No pastry; relies on stiff mash |
- Cool the filling completely before it touches pastry, or the butter melts and the pastry goes greasy.
- Pre-cook the potato so it is cooked through by the time the pastry is golden.
- Thicken the juices with flour or by draining, so the base doesn't go soggy.
- Glaze with egg for a golden finish.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Potato and cheese turnovers (ready-made pastry)
A shortcut: ready-rolled puff pastry and a dry filling. The pastry teaches itself; the lesson here is a filling that stays inside.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry (about 320 g)
- 250 g floury potatoes, peeled, diced 1 cm, boiled until just tender and drained dry
- 60 g mature Cheddar, grated
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 1 Lion-marked egg, beaten, for glazing
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional, gas 7) and line a tray with baking paper. Let the pastry come to room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Mix the cooled potato, cheese, spring onions, mustard and seasoning. Crush the potato slightly so it holds together.
- Unroll the pastry and cut into 6 squares. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling on one half of each, brush the edges with egg, fold over to make a triangle and press firmly to seal. Press the edges with a fork.
- Glaze with egg, prick the tops with a fork and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and golden. Cool for 5 minutes (the filling is very hot).
Homemade pastry
For shortcrust, rub 100 g cold butter into 200 g plain flour, bind with 3 to 4 tablespoons of cold water and chill for 30 minutes. The planned pastry course will teach this properly.
Level 2 · Cornish
Vegetable pasties
A traditional pasty has a sealed crimped edge. The filling is lightly cooked first so you know it is done, and thickened with a little flour so it doesn't make the pastry soggy.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 pack ready-rolled shortcrust pastry (about 320 g), or 2 sheets
- 200 g waxy or all-rounder potatoes, peeled, diced 5 mm
- 100 g swede or carrot, peeled, diced 5 mm
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 15 g butter
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 60 ml vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 pinch salt and white pepper
- 1 Lion-marked egg, beaten, for glazing
- Boil the potatoes and swede for 5 minutes, then drain well. Soften the onion in the butter for 5 minutes, stir in the flour, then the stock, and cook for 1 minute until thick. Mix in the vegetables, parsley and seasoning, and cool completely.
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional, gas 7) and line a tray. Cut 4 circles about 18 cm across from the pastry (use a plate as a guide).
- Spoon the filling onto one half of each circle. Brush the edge with egg, fold over, and crimp the edge by pressing and folding it over itself in small pleats. Make a small steam hole.
- Glaze with egg and bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional, gas 6) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes more, until deep golden and the filling is steaming hot. Cool for 10 minutes.
Level 2 · Bake
Cheese and onion pie with a mash lid
Mashed potato makes a pie 'crust' with no pastry. The filling is a thick cheese sauce with softened onion and diced potato, and the mash lid goes golden.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 600 g floury potatoes, peeled and cut up (for the topping)
- 1 tsp salt, for the water
- 20 g butter
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300 g waxy potatoes, diced 1 cm and boiled for 6 minutes
- 25 g butter, for the sauce
- 25 g plain flour
- 300 ml milk, for the sauce
- 100 g mature Cheddar, grated
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Boil the floury potatoes in salted water until soft, drain, steam-dry and mash with the butter and 2 tablespoons of milk. Season well.
- Soften the onion in the oil for 8 minutes. For the sauce, melt 25 g butter, stir in the flour for 1 minute, then add the 300 ml milk gradually, whisking, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until thick. Off the heat, stir in two thirds of the cheese and the mustard.
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional, gas 7). Mix the onion and diced potato into the sauce, season, and spoon into a 1.5 litre baking dish.
- Spread the mash over the top, rough up the surface with a fork and scatter over the remaining cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges and hot all the way through.
Level 3 · Folded
Baked potato and pea samosas
Samosas are spiced potato in folded pastry. Filo makes them light and lets you bake them with just a brush of oil. The filling must be dry, and the folding is the skill.
Ingredients (3 portions)
- 300 g floury potatoes, peeled, diced 1 cm
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 60 g frozen peas
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 6 sheets of filo pastry
- 2 tbsp oil, for brushing
- Boil the potatoes for 6 to 8 minutes until just tender, and drain very well. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the cumin seeds for 30 seconds, then the onion for 5 minutes. Add the ginger and ground spices for 30 seconds, stirring so they don't burn.
- Add the potatoes, peas and salt, and crush the potatoes lightly. Cook for 2 minutes, stir in the coriander and cool completely.
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional, gas 7). Cut each filo sheet in half lengthways and keep the rest covered with a damp cloth. Take 2 strips together (brushing between them with oil) as a double layer.
- Put a heaped tablespoon of filling at one end of a strip. Fold the corner over to make a triangle, then keep folding along the strip like a flag, until you reach the end. Brush the final edge with oil to seal.
- Brush the samosas with oil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp. Serve with chutney or yoghurt.
Fry instead
Shallow-fry in 2 cm of sunflower oil for 2 to 3 minutes a side. Keep filo covered while you work: it dries and cracks in minutes.
Experiments
Experiment
Pre-cooked or raw filling
Do you need to pre-cook?
- Make two small pasties, one with a pre-boiled filling and one with raw diced potato and swede.
- Bake for the same time and check the middle.
Look for: The raw filling is often still hard in the middle when the pastry is golden. The pre-cooked one is done.
Experiment
Sealed or unsealed
Does the seal matter?
- Make two turnovers, one with the edge brushed with egg and pressed firmly, the other pressed dry.
- Bake and check for leaks.
Look for: The dry edge is likely to open and let the filling out. The egg-sealed one stays shut.
Experiment
Egg wash or milk or nothing
What gives the shine?
- Glaze three turnovers: with beaten egg, with milk and not at all.
- Compare the colour.
Look for: Egg gives a deep glossy gold, milk a pale matt gold, and no glaze a pale, dry look.
Experiment
Baked or air-fried samosas
Different machines.
- Bake some samosas in the oven and air-fry some at 190°C for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once.
- Compare the crispness.
Look for: The air fryer is quicker and often crisper. The oven does more at once.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potato turnovers | ||||
| Vegetable pasties | ||||
| Mash-topped pie | ||||
| Samosas | ||||
| Pre-cooked vs raw | ||||
| Sealed vs unsealed | ||||
| Egg, milk, none | ||||
| Oven vs air fryer |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Soggy base | Wet filling, or warm filling | Thicken it; cool it fully |
| Filling leaks | Overfilled, or not sealed | Use less; egg-seal and crimp |
| Raw potato inside | Not pre-cooked | Boil the diced potato for 5 to 6 minutes first |
| Pastry pale | Oven cool or no glaze | Bake hot; brush with egg |
| Filo cracks | Dried out | Keep it covered with a damp cloth |
| Mash lid sinks | Mash too soft | Make the mash stiffer; use less milk |
Food safety: pastry fillings
Fillings are cooked before they go into the pastry. Pastry cases must be steaming hot all the way through when served, so cut one open to check. Very hot fillings can burn: let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Raw egg and raw flour: the Food Standards Agency advises against eating or tasting uncooked flour or dough, because raw flour is not treated to kill bacteria such as E. coli. Wash your hands, the board and your tools after handling raw dough or raw egg, and use Lion-marked eggs. Cook everything thoroughly. Pregnant women, children under 5, people aged 65 and over, and anyone with a weakened immune system should be especially careful.Cooked potatoes and anything made from them: cool them quickly (spread out, within 1 to 2 hours), keep them covered in the fridge, and eat them within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and only once. (This is the general chilled-leftovers advice relayed by local-authority food-safety pages; there is no potato-specific rule, but potatoes are starchy, so they get the same care as rice and pasta.) Reheat pasties and pies in a hot oven until steaming hot in the middle, not in a microwave only.
Raw potatoes: keep them somewhere cool, dark and dry (above about 6°C), not in the fridge and not in the light. The Food Standards Agency advises against keeping raw potatoes in the fridge if you will roast or fry them, because the cold raises the amount of acrylamide that forms when they brown. Cut away sprouts and any green patches generously; if a potato is green all over, or tastes bitter, throw it away.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a dry filling that stays inside pastry.
- I can seal and crimp a pasty.
- I can use a mash lid on a pie.
- I can fold a samosa from filo.
- I know to cool fillings before they meet pastry.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Potatoes 2, chapter 5 is Potatoes Around the World: patatas bravas, latkes, aloo gobi and a Peruvian causa.