What’s your earliest memory of eating out? I was sat on a padded bench with my Nan and Grandpops, drinking a strawberry Calypso. The red table tops stood out against the faded red and white tiled floor, which matched the chequered curtains that hung in the window at the front of the shop.
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| Picture Credit: Yell.com |
I hopped down from the bench to meet my Mum at the counter as she placed our order. A cutlery tray sat on top, so that customers could help themselves to knives and forks (or forks and spoons if you’re traditional). I could just about reach it but was not tall enough to see inside. I grabbed our cutlery, along with a glass bottle filled with chilli vinegar – the perfect accompaniment to our meal.
“Three single-singles, one double-single and a portion of eels please, Jen.” Translation: three plates with one pie and one scoop of mash, one plate with two pies and one scoop of mash, and a giant bowl of stewed eels covered in parsley liquor.
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| Picture Credit: Eel & Pie House on Facebook |
The cook appeared from the kitchen with a long tray, filled with freshly baked pies. He had flour all over his apron and each pie had a dark brown, crispy top. They smelt like heaven! Jen dished up our pies, placed a scoop of mash on the side of each plate using a wooden spoon, and ladled a generous helping of liquor on top.
Mum brought our meals back to our table and we squabbled over who got to use the salt and pepper shakers first. Ten minutes later, our plates were clear – delicious!
Me and my family ate at the Pie & Mash shop in Clacton-On-Sea nearly every Saturday, from when I was a baby to when I was in my early 20s, and I genuinely get cravings when I don’t eat Pie & Mash for a while. Luckily, working all over London allows me to visit new pie shops regularly but lockdown has had me missing out! So, I decided to try and make my own for the very first time.
I spent around an hour Googling various recipes from different shops and home cooks, before starting on my own version of this Cockney classic. I made everything from scratch, including the pastry, and it was so much easier than I anticipated. I gave the extra portions to a friend and his Dad, who also grew up eating this dish, and they gave it a giant thumbs up!
Traditionally, the pies are made from two types of pastry - shortcrust tops and suet bottoms – and the filling is always minced beef. The recipe below will provide enough pastry and filling for four individual pies, or one big pie to share!
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, diced
500g Minced / Ground Beef
1 tsp Mustard
1 tbsp Tomato Purée
2 tbsp Plain Flour
150ml Beef Stock
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Suet Pastry:
250g Self-Raising Flour, plus extra for rolling
125g Beef Suet
Pinch of Salt
200ml Water
Shortcrust Pastry:
150g Plain Flour, plus extra for rolling
75g Butter
Pinch of Salt
2 tbsp Water
Mashed Potatoes:
2 Large Potatoes, peeled & quartered
Knob of Butter
100ml Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
Parsley Liquor:
50g Butter
50g Corn Flour
500ml Chicken or Fish Stock
0.5 tsp Garlic Powder
LOTS of Parsley, chopped
Method:
1. Heat your oil in large pan over a medium heat, before adding your onion and garlic. Allow to fry until the onions are soft and translucent, then add your minced beef. Stir occasionally until your meat has browned, breaking up any clumps that may form.
2. To the pan, add your mustard and tomato purée, ensuring it is thoroughly stirred into the mince mixture. Stir in your flour so that all the meat is coated and fry for a further minute, before adding your beef stock.
3. Once the stock has been added, bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the stock has thickened and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set the mince aside while you make your suet pastry.
4. Mix your flour, suet and salt in a bowl. Slowly add your water, a little at a time while stirring, until the mixture begins to form a dough. You want to add enough water to bind the mixture together, so that you can bring it into a ball, but not too much to make it sticky. If you accidentally add too much water, just add in a touch more flour.
5. Lightly dust a counter with the extra flour and roll out your suet into a large rectangle, roughly 2mm in thickness. Lay the pastry over your pie dish(es) and very gently press down to ensure the bottom and sides are covered. Cut off any excess pastry that overhangs the sides, leaving a 1cm lip of pastry over the edges.
6. Fill the dish(es) evenly with the minced beef filling.
7. For the shortcrust pasty top, gently rub together the flour, salt and butter in a bowl using the tips of your fingers, until it looks like breadcrumbs. Be careful not to be heavy-handed here – the heat from your hands can cause the butter to melt and this will ruin your pastry.
8. Add the water and kneed into a ball, before rolling out onto a flour-dusted counter. Roll the pastry into a large rectangle, approximately 2mm thick. Lay the pastry over your pie dish(es) and using a fork, crimp the lid to the suet pastry lip on the bottom. Cut off any excess shortcrust pastry.
9. Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 4-5 / 180 degrees C / 360 degrees F. Place your pie dish(es) into a deep baking tray and gently fill it with boiling water, until the water reaches half-way up the pie dish(es). Be careful not to get any water on your pies. Place the tray into the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the shortcrust pastry has a brown and crispy top.
10. While your pies are cooking, prepare the mash and parsley liquor. For the mash, bring a pan of water to the boil and add your potatoes. Cook for around 20 minutes until they are soft, then drain off the water. Add the butter and milk, and mash until all lumps are gone. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
11. For the parsley liquor, melt the butter in a pan and then add your cornflour, whisking together to form a paste. Add 100ml of stock and whish thoroughly to ensure the flour does not clump. Stir in the garlic powder and your chopped parsley, before adding the remaining stock. Continue to whisk until you reach a sauce-like texture.
12. Once all the components are cooked, get ready to plate up! Remove the pies from their dishes and transfer to your plate. Scoop on your mash and pour over a generous helping of parsley liquor. For the ultimate Pie & Mash experience, sprinkle with salt and white pepper, and add a splash of chilli vinegar – perfect!
I absolutely love this recipe and it certainly satisfies those cravings. That said, I’ll be straight over to the Pie Shop once lockdown is over! Make sure you check out a traditional Pie & Mash shop when you can, too, to order your “double-single”. Or, if you’re feeling extra hungry, you’ll want a “double-double” - just remember that the pie order always comes first!
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