Reverend June Ladner from the Kadina Uniting Church is a fifth-generation descendant of Cornish migrants who settled in Moonta and inter-married with other Cornish families through four generations. Consequently, the Cornish tradition is strong is her family.

Cornish food such as pasties, pies and saffron cakes were essential for all special celebrations, but pasties were also made every Saturday morning. The women of the family worked together at the kitchen table and June started “helping” at an early age.

Reverend June Ladner. Photo: supplied

Reverend Ladner continues to this day to use her family’s traditional recipes.

Home-made Cornish pasties are part of the cultural heritage of South Australia and as part of the Copper Coast’s 2015 Kernewek Lowender festival, a DVD has been released with Reverend Ladner demonstrating how traditional Cornish pasties are made. Here is her recipe:

Traditional Cornish pasty

Ingredients

½ cup (64g) plain flour
½ cup (64g) self-raising flour
30 grams dripping or lard
¾ cup water
Pinch salt
1 medium potato
1 small portion each of onion, swede, turnip, trombone (if not available, use pumpkin)
60g skirt steak
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Make pastry first by rubbing the dripping into the flour and salt with fingertips; add water gradually until dough is formed. Roll into a ball and let stand.

Continue with vegetables and meat to make filling by chipping (rough thin slices) all vegetables into a bowl (do not dice). Add very finely cut skirt steak (do not mince). Salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and let stand whilst rolling pastry.

Roll pasty to a medium round (approximately 8 inches or 20cm diameter), then place mixture in centre of pastry. Lightly glaze around edge of pastry with egg and milk. Bring sides of pastry together and seal firmly with fingers and tuck in both ends. Then fold and crimp the top edge firmly.

Glaze with egg and milk and bake in moderate oven on a floured tray for 45 minutes.

Makes one large pasty.

The Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish festival takes place from May 17-24. See InDaily’s travel story on the Copper Coast, including the festival highlights, here. Copies of the DVD are available for $12 at Uniting Church events during the festival with proceeding going to the church.