Scandinavian miners working in the Upper Peninsula used to pack freshly baked pasties (pronounced pas-tees) into their lunch pales in the morning so they would have a warm meal at noon. Over a century later, pasties are a traditional northern Michigan food that my family loves. Stuffed with meat and vegetables, they are filling yet won’t weigh you down.
We started making pasties every year at our church over 10 years ago. Each November, a group of volunteers make over 2000 pasties to raise money for Christian missions. As a young girl, I formed the dough into balls to be rolled out, and as a teenager I made the actual pasties. There I bumped hips in the kitchen with women at least 50 years older than me. As we sealed the dough around the filling, we discussed the latest Victoria’s Secret fashion show and local small town gossip.
Now that I’m away at school, I miss those hectic yet relaxing weekends, but my mom and I still make smaller batches of pasties on our own. If you make these yourself, make it a team effort in a fairly large kitchen. We make a dozen or so at a time, and wrap the extra in foil and place in plastic bags to freeze.
I reheat frozen pasties in the toaster oven and eat with catsup, but it’s much better if you take the time to make homemade gravy.
Mom’s Pasties
(Sara Waisanen / Western Herald) Beef pasties
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups ice water
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups shredded potatoes
2 carrots, shredded
1 onion
1/2 cup diced rutabaga
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cube beef bouillon
1/2 cup hot water
Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and quickly stir in ice cold water. Form dough into a ball. Set aside. Dissolve the bouillon cube in the hot water. Combine uncooked vegetables, uncooked beef, salt, pepper, and bouillon. Roll out pastry dough into 6 by 8 inch rectangles. Place about 1 1/2 cups of filling in the center of each rectangle. Bring 6 inch sides together, and seal. Cut a slit in the top of each pasty. Place on dull, not black, baking pans. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes.
Easy Beef Gravy
¼ cup butter
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup flour
1 tablespoon flour
1 small package beef bullion powder
2 cups canned low sodium beef broth
In a saucepan over medium-high heat melt butter or margarine until bubbly (do not brown). Add in the black pepper, garlic powder (optional) and flour, then whisk for 1 minute. Slowly add in the beef broth and beef bouillon powder (or beef broth mixed with pan drippings) stir over low heat until smooth, thickened and bubbly about 3 minutes).
Heather Holland, a Weekend Scene Opinion columnist, is a junior major in public relations and fashion merchandising and can be reached via e-mail at heather.l.holland@wmich.edu.
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