Get ready for British Pie Week which is being celebrated this year from the 3rd to the 8th March. I reckon a great classic British pie is a hard dish to beat, either as a meal or a snack. The quality of the filling and pastry is the sticking point though and would most certainly give the pie a bad reputation, especially when manufacturers try to keep the cost of the ingredients down so it appeals to people on a budget, but in turn, the quality and taste suffers.
On the 2nd of March I’ll be kicking off British pie week at The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe in Somerset along with other restaurateurs and chefs who will be showcasing just how good a pie can be.
I’ll be making a chicken and lobster version of the rabbit and crayfish stargazy pie from the 2007 Great British Menu which got me into the finals (along with the Perry jelly with summer fruits and elderflower ice cream). Each competitor was only supposed to win one of four courses but I somehow got both dishes into the dinner at the Ambassador’s banquet in Paris!
This photo was taken when I was at college - making the traditional version of Stargazy pie.
A great meat pie should be packed with flavour which more often that not will be down to good quality cuts of meat. When I say good quality, I don’t mean prime cuts but secondary muscles, like shin or flank or shoulder, that take gentle slow-cooking in a rich sauce sauce, then cooked with great pastry. My favourite pie pastry is the suet crust below which is also enriched with butter. Lame shop-bought puff pastry doesn’t really do it for me.
Then, there are different types of pies that don’t take hours to cook like a fish pie which is a great dish with white and smoked fish bound in a rich fish veloute and topped with well-seasoned, buttery mash. My fish pie doesn’t have egg in it as I don’t think egg belongs in a fish pie. I don’t see the point. It’s like putting peas in a shepherds or cottage pie...Why?
The Food Waste Inspector is still at large out there and doing a great job showing up the supermarkets and showing exactly what they are wasting in the sad food chain. It’s very clear that supermarket owners just don’t know what’s going on. So, keep your eyes open and look out for the yellow stickers, as there may well be some perfect pie cuts on the supermarket shelves that are nearing their perceived sell-by and use-by date.
Next week’s column will be Pies: Part 2 - made without the suet and I will give a little more insight into what can be done to achieve a great pie.
Happy reading!…
