The comfort pastie

Comfort food: Vegemite on thick wedges of toasted white bread, with lashings of butter; aromatic chicken broth with risoni; or perhaps homemade pasties packed with starchy vegetables. A plate of one of the above please, consumed whilst sitting up in bed with a cup of tea and a great book beside me. This maketh for one happy woman.

Can a bite or three of our favourite 'feel good' food get our endorphins racing? Author and foodie Charlotte Wood in her new book Love & Hunger notes that the scientific community is out on whether certain foods have mood-enhancing properties. She goes on to say that what constitutes ‘comfort food’ is completely subjective at any rate: Culture, age and even gender play a role in what foods we find comforting. There is however a common denominator: high-fat, high-carb, hot dishes that we remember from our childhoods top the list of consolation foods. Wood conducts an unofficial ‘survey’ with 60 people in her circle about their favourite such foods – the verdict? Vegemite toast was mentioned at least a dozen times, with the white-toast-and-plenty-of-butter-variety the overall winner. I now feel like it’s okay to come out with my dark little secret.

I don’t know about you, but my comfort food cravings hit the roof as soon as the weather gets cold. Suddenly, I need more high-energy food, and more sleep. Come spring I will be parting with a lot of money at my local gym, but right now all I want to do is eat and hibernate.

One of my favourite comfort foods are home-made pasties. My mother and I used to make them together when I was a teenager. She would roll out the pastry, and I would chop and cook the vegetables. I now make them as a snack for my kids, because the vegetables and meat are well-hidden within the crisp pastry. They are superb topped with a dollop of passata.

Adults love them too. I have made them as an appetiser for dinner guests, as a contribution to parties and even for the recent funeral of my dear friend Katerina. If I’m  particularly lazy or strapped for time, I use store-bought shortcrust pastry but of course you can make your own. These decadent little parcles freeze beautifully. It's well worth making them in bulk and pulling them out on those days when you have unexpected guests or can't be bothered to cook.

And are they comforting? Like a hot water bottle for the inside of your belly.

Download The comfort pastie recipe

Comments

[wendy meddings]

thanks Spiri, been wanting to a good pastie recipe for ages. love wendy

[Spiri Tsintziras]

Beauty Wendy! Glad to be of help. xxSpiri

[Deb Birchall]

Thanks Spiri - can't wait to make a batch of pasties. After school food is always such a struggle and these look delicious! Deb

[Katie Falzon]

Yum!! Love a good pastie as well! Oh and of course vegemite on toast and yes it definitely HAS to be white bread, preferably of the white and fluffy "plastic" variety!!

[Hilda]

Hey Spiri, winter is a time for feasting and plumping up - Steve and I have a lovely weekend ritual of coffee in bed and on sunday, a croissant as well, simple but look forward to it every week. Hilda

[Jane]

I wanted to let you know that I have just cooked 45 yummy little pasties. They’re great and very moorish too, so much so that I’m wondering if there will be any left by the end of today! The two boys are at football at the moment so I have left some in the warm oven for them to devour when they come in. Thanks to you and your lovely recipe they are going to think that I’m the best mum in the world. Amazing what good food can do.

[Pauls Sloss]

I've tasted these pasties from the master herself. You can't stop at one ... or two ... or a dozen

[Spiri]

Pauls, think we are due for another shared meal and the next instalment of olive oil. Yes, agree pasties are yum and very moorish...xS

[Anna(杏菜)]

What kind of taste is there in this?
It seems to be very delicious.

[Spiri]

Anna, as we just had pasties for dinner on this very night, I can say the taste is still in my mouth - the filling is meaty and starchy, with bursts of corn and peas, and the pastry crunchy and buttery. They taste best when they come out of the oven with a dollop of your favourite sauce (we use my mother's homemade tomato sauce). Hope this wets your taste buds!