I've never eaten a pastie, but from what I read it sounds like a shortcrust pastry filled with beef and onion. Is that correct? Last week I made a meat pie with stewed beef, gravy and shortcrust pastry. Is that pretty similiar to a pastie, except that a pastie is cut and shaped a different way? Either way, my meat pie was exceptional and will be made again.

The above might make me sound a bit foreign and isn't being done to manipulate British intelligence services, but is just an honest question as I have honestly never eaten a pasty/pastie (no idea how to spell it).