Potato Pasty

Potato Pasty

I had my first potato pasty (pasty/pastie means pie and is traditionally filled with meat) at an English themed pub located in Central Pennsylvania. They offered the meat version and a potato version of the pasty, I chose the potato and proceeded to order it every time I would go to that pub because I enjoyed it so much. After moving back to Southeastern PA, I have never seen a similar offering, and I have always wanted to recreate the recipe. I finally did so just a few weeks ago, and tonight I already made it for the third time. It’s obviously been a hit at my house, and this time of year is perfect for it – it’s a completely warm and toasty comfort food. It’s pretty easy to make and very customizable, so I hope you will give it a try and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Crescent Rolls (for an 8X11 pan – I use 12 total rolls, 1 full tube (8 rolls) and 1 small tube (4 rolls))

1 bag Ore Ida Steam n’ Mash Cut Russet Potatoes

-          2 tbsp. butter

-          2/3 cups milk

6 to 8 oz. cream cheese

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

½ to 1 tsp. garlic powder (or to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray baking pan with PAM. I use an 11X9" dish. You can certainly go bigger or smaller, but will need to adjust the amount of ingredients to your needs.

Take six crescent rolls and place them in bottom of pan. (Works best placing them as seen in pic for 11X9). Pinch seams of dough together. Poke holes throughout dough with a fork. Place in oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until it starts turning golden brown.

Meanwhile, microwave bag of Ore Ida Steam n’ Mash as directed on package, for 10 minutes on high. When potatoes are finished, continue to make them as per the instructions on package. Mash with 2 tbsp. butter and 2/3 cups milk.

At this point, you can add any extras you would like to your potato mixture (meat, herbs, different cheeses). I usually add the following:

Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and garlic powder. Stir all in until well combined with the base potato mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the bottom layer of crescent rolls is ready, remove from oven and immediately spoon completed potato mixture evenly over it.

Top potato mixture with the remaining 6 crescent rolls and pinch the seams together as well as possible.

Place in oven and bake again until top crust is golden brown and flaky, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Cut up and serve immediately.

Additional Information:

In my house I am only cooking for two, so this recipe makes us about 3 dinners (6 servings) per dish. I put the remainder in the fridge and I strongly recommend eating it within a week. The rolls, even when fully baked the first time around, seem to start breaking down a bit the longer they sit. To reheat, I get the oven to 350, put the 2 servings in a baking dish, and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until warm throughout.

I use Steam n’ Mash because it’s easy and tasty, but you could certainly make this recipe with homemade mashed potatoes. Again, just make your mashed potatoes as you normally would and then add in extras to punch it up as a main course item.

The pub version was more like an individual pie whereas my version is baked in a baking pan and makes 6 to 8 servings as the main meal. Between the potatoes, cheese and rolls, it’s fairly heavy so I serve it with simply prepared veggies or fruit on the side. It could work as a side dish as well, but in that case you should get a lot more servings out of it!

The pub version was served in more of a puff pastry crust, which I want to try with my version as well, but when I first made it I only had crescent rolls on hand and they work great.