Several years ago, I was asked why my then dog was called, “Oggie”?
An ‘Oggie’ is another term for a Cornish pastie; a lunch-time meal for the Cornish tin-miners of old whose wives would, apparently, inform the miners that lunch was served by yelling, “Oggie! Oggie! Oggie! Oy! Oy! Oy!” down the mine-shaft.
A chant adopted by the Plymouth-based (Devonport) division of the Royal Navy – and in use for decades before making its way to Australia and being transformed into, “Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie! Oy! Oy! Oy! – the cry was regularly employed by supporters of the Devonport Field Gun Crew, during the Field Gun Race that took place during the annual Royal Tournament, held at Earl’s Court, in London; a competition in which the three divisions of the Royal Navy (Devonport, Portsmouth and the Fleet Air Arm) were pitted against one another in what was once described as the ‘toughest team sport in the world’.
It was a competition whose origins date back to 1900 and the siege of Ladysmith, during the Boer War, when the Royal Naval Brigade distinguished themselves by carrying field guns over impossible terrain and, in so doing, brought relief to the besieged inhabitants of the South African town.
1900. The Royal Naval Brigade with the field guns used in the relief of Ladysmith
(In an era that seems overly concerned with cocooning people from harm, the Field Gun Competition was discontinued in 1999 because of official Occupational Health and Safety concerns.)
However, the reason that my dog “Oggie” was called “Oggie” was that, like everybody with west-country family connections who claims that their grand-ma baked the very best oggies … mine did.
The ‘Oggie’ (Cornish Pasty) Recipe
Ingredients
For Shortcrust Pastry
500g strong bread flour or All Purpose/Plain Flour
125g lard
125g butter
1tsp salt
175ml cold water
1 beaten egg
For Filling
450g beef skirt or chuck steak finely chopped
450g waxy potatoes, peeled and finely diced
250g swede, peeled and finely diced
200g onion finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Rub the lard and butter lightly with fingertips into the flour with a pinch of salt until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add water, blend and knead until pastry becomes elastic. This can be done in a food mixer. Cover with cling film and chill in fridge for 2 hours.
- Heat oven to 165 deg C/fan. Mix meat and vegetables with salt and pepper.
- Cut dough in 4 and roll out each piece of pastry on lightly floured board to about 20cm round. Lay ¼ of filling along the centre of pastry leaving a space at each end. Brush the pastry all round with the beaten egg and carefully draw up both sides and pinch together to seal. Brush with the remaining egg. (The dough can also be cut in half to make 2 large pasties.
- Carefully lift onto a non-stick baking tray and bake for 50-55 minutes until golden.
—ENDS—
The above Recipe is from the book, ‘Dining With Divers: A Taste For Adventure’ – the second volume in a series of two, available from Amazon stores.
Categories: General
NEKTONIX 