Friend beginning to eat pasty (4)
I believe the answer is:
pale
'pasty' is the definition.
('pale' can be a synonym of 'pasty')
'friend beginning to eat' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal is a kind of friend).
'beginning to' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letter of 'eat' is 'e'.
'pal'+'e'='PALE'
(Other definitions for pale that I've seen before include "Lightly coloured" , "beyond which one is out of line?" , "Not bright - limit" , "stick" , "Without much colour" .)