This week we visit the cuisine of the south west and examine stargazy pie.
WHAT IS IT?
It's a pie made with whole pilchards, white fish potatoes and boiled egg as the main ingredients. What makes it instantly recognisable is the fish heads poking out of the crust. (a pilchard is a sardine over 2 years old)
MEANING OF NAME
The heads poking out look like fish gazing at the stars. Originally this was done to prove the pie contained fish. And no, you don't eat the heads. Another version is rabbit and crayfish stargazy pie. You'll be pleased to know only the crayfish pop their heads out.
HISTORY
The story goes that during a bad 16th-century winter, the villagers of Mousehole, Cornwall (pronounced mow zel) were starving due to rough winter seas making fishing too dangerous. Tom Bawcock set out alone in his tiny boat and in a feat that would outdo Jesus, caught a lot of fish and made the village a giant pie.
Now something smells fishy about that version. If the village were starving, where did the eggs, potatoes and pastry come from? In reality, the story was probably made up. Bawcock is thought to come from the French "Beau Coc" for fine cock and just meant a popular guy. The cooking of a fish pie had been a local tradition stretching back perhaps to pre-Christian times by fishermen to bring good luck.
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND POPULARITY
The village of Mousehole celebrates Tom Bawcock eve every 23rd of December with a parade and a sing song. The local pub bakes a big stargazy pie which is served free of charge ( in reality you donate to a charity, usually the Royal National Lifeboat Institution so leave out all the whining about socialism).
Outside of Mousehole, stargazy pie is found throughout Cornwall in cafes and restaurants keen to grab the tourist's cash. Stargazy pie is as Cornish as clotted cream and jam scones or Cornish pasties. It's not hard to find recipes in British cookbooks or online but it's unusual to see a "real" one complete with fishheads outside a Cornish restaurant.
Type "stargazy pie" into google images and it instantly suggests "vile stargazy pie" and "disgusting stargazy pie". A search of youtube brings up a few recipes but mostly ones of horrified kids or foreigners who see eating one as a "challenge". On a global scale stargazy has a unfair reputation although researching this I did notice a japanese interest in the dish.
GOOD V BAD DISHES
The original pie allegedly served by Tom contained several fish including dogfish, scad and sandeel. None of those are particularly edible. Scad (horse mackerel) is too bony and dogfish is considered a pest by anglers with a taste of pee.
Not surprisingly modern stargazy is made from pilchards and a whitefish such as cod or pollock. A good pie would be one that's generous in fish and doesn't just bulk out with cheap potatoes.
Because the fish is baked whole in the pie a good one needs careful deboning.
POPPY'S OPINION
Let's be honest, you really don't like the look of those heads poking out, do you. For some reason, most people in the west are squeamish about eating fish with their heads on and certainly don't like them poking out of pies.
But ignoring the heads, stargazy pie is actually pretty good. This time of year we get shoals of dab, whiting and flounder hitting our coasts. They're not particularly big and are best used in fishcakes or baked into a pie. Usually, this means mixing with a cheese sauce and topping with mashed potato, but a stargazy pie is more interesting. Although I do confess I do leave out the heads.
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