Foods that are Unique to the Slate Belt
The Pasty
One of the delicacies that shaped Pen Argyl's history was the pasty. The Slate Belt area is one of the few places where this English-style food can be found. The recipe was brought over by settlers from Cornwall, England. It was a staple food of quarry men and their wives.
The pasty has been mentioned by Shakespeare in one of his literary works. A pasty is also referred to as a meat pie. Pasties can contain sausage, rice, turnips, parsley, eggs, onions, liver, corn, potatoes, and other kinds of meat. Pasty sales have played a huge role in the fund raising for organizations and churches in the Slate Belt area .
MRS. MARTIN BROAD'S RECIPE FOR PASTIES:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoonful salt
- 1 teaspoonful shortening
- Mix and wet with 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water. Roll as for pie.
- Filling:
- 1 cup potatoes cut fine
- 1/2 cup onions cut fine
- 1/2 cup beef cut fine
- 1 tablespoonful butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- Bring edges together with crimp on top. Bake in oven for one hour at 350 degrees.
The Raised Saffron Cake
Saffron cakes are a Pen Argyl delicacy. They are yellow-colored buns made from a recipe that originated in England. They are made using a spice called saffron, one of the rarest spices in the world. Saffron is made from a type of purple crocus. This flower contains nine stigmas, which must be picked by human hands. It takes about 200,000 to 300,000 stigmas to make one kilogram of saffron. It takes 70,000 stigmas to make one pound of saffron. This delicate condiment costs $150 an ounce (1990's prices). Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world which makes saffron cake a rarity these days. Below is an original recipe for Mrs. Thomas Reed's raised saffron cakes. You can tell that the recipe is quite old, because the measurements that are given are not exact.
ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR SAFFRON CAKES:
To start, boil a large potato or a couple of small ones. Next, mash them and when both the potatoes and potato water are lukewarm, add the following ingredients: two yeast cakes, one tablespoon of sugar, and three cups of flour. Let this mixture set overnight until you are ready to make the cake.
- 3 flour sieves full of flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 heaping tablespoons (almost a pound) of lard
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 boxes currants or small raisins
- 1/4 lb. lemon peel
- $.50 worth of saffron that has been well steeped (We checked on this and found that this amounts to "less than a pinch" of saffron.)
Then add about five cups of yeast and lukewarm water to mix it. This makes about three large loaves of cake and a biscuit pan full of nubbies.
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