580. PILCHARD and BACON PIE

a.k.a. Stargazy Pie

serves 8


One 8" (200mm) shallow pie dish
6 to 8 pilchard
2 eggs
3 rashers bacon
1 lemon.
1 medium sized onion
sea salt and pepper to season
parsley and tarragon

Gut, clean and bone the fish, leaving on the heads and tails. (You may find the flesh is so fresh you can pull the backbone free without a knife) Take the onion. Finely chop. Chop into squares the bacon. Cut the lemon in half; set two slices from to one side for decoration. Squeeze and save the juice. Finely grind the rind. Boil until soft, not hard two free-range eggs. Cut into small dices.

Mousehole Either mix and roll enough ingredients to make approx. 500g of shortcrust or flaky pasty. If you dont have the patience buy some ready prepared frozen pasty from the your local supermarket. Cut the thawed pasty mixture into two halves. Roll one half down to thickness sufficient to cover the base of your pie dish. Cut off the overlapped edges. Coat the edge with either milk or water to ensure the pasty lid will stick.

Either then: Carefully your pilchards, into the bottom of the dish arranging them, like the spokes of a wheel, around the edge of your dish. Place the mixed chopped onion, eggs and bacon in the gaps between the fish. Some recipes suggest stuffing the with half the finely chopped mixture, but given the small gut of the pilchard is it worth trying to do so? Add the lemon juice and cover with your pasty lid pressing down around the fish to seal the pie, trim the edges of overlapping pasty and crimping the edges in true Cornish style.

Or (and we find this more authentic) place all your chopped ingredients, including seasoning into the dish. Cover with pasty lid, trim the edges of overlapping pasty, crimp as above, then carefully cut slits into the pasty, hold open with blade of a knife, and gently push the whole fish into the slots, leaving just the heads or tails showing. Add the lemon juice and then seal the slits. Coat the now completed pie with a beaten egg.

Cooking your Pie: Place in the middle of a pre-hearted oven gas mark 6, 200 c for around 30 minutes, until golden brown. For larger pies more time might be needed before it is cooked.

Serve piping hot with sprig of parsley garnish and Cornish new potatoes.


courtesy of: Cornwall by Cornishlight, The Cornwall Tourist Board's Holiday Information Call Centre: + 44 (0) 1872 322900