Cockney Eel, Pie And Mash.

                                                 My article for Shorelines newspaper

I became very excited about visiting The Pie & Vinyl, a restaurant I had chosen to review for Shorelines newspaper, because as the name suggests, it is a pie shop.

As a Londoner I have a strong connection with pie and mash shops, before we were awash with fast food restaurants and takeaways, pie and mash shops were where the working class went to eat out. Eel pie became a popular poor mans food in the Victorian era. During that time eels were one of the few fish that could survive in the heavily polluted Thames, thus they were in plentiful supply. Eel pie, eventually teamed with mashed potatoes, became a London cockney favourite and pie and mash shops were prevalent all across London.

By the time I was a child and regularly being taken for pie and mash on a Saturday by my uncle Bert, the eel pie filling had been replaced by minced beef and onion, however, eel liquor was still very much a component of the dish and a crucial part of the meal, water used for stewing eels was flavoured with parsley, hence the green flecked sauce.

Pie and mash shops in London today are still mostly housed in Victorian buildings and have been passed down through families such as: the Cookes, Manzes, Goddards and Kellys. Whenever I'm in London I try to go to Goddards traditional pie and mash shop in Greenwich south east London to get my 'fix'. Goddards have been serving pie and mash in London for over 125 years and still stick to traditional recipes passed down from their great grandparents.

                                            Goddards pie and mash shop Greenwich

The Pie & Vinyl in Southsea is primarily a record store owned by two guys who felt there was a gap in the market with independent record stores all but disappearing. The link with pie and mash came from attending music festivals, where companies such as Pieminister are proving very popular among those in attendance. I enjoyed my pie mash and liquor and the general ambience of the restaurant, it was great to see so many young people tucking into this old fashioned dish.

                                   My steak and Guinness pie, mash, mushy peas and liquor

Now, as most of my readers know, I am the queen of hotchpotch dinners, I waste nothing, therefore (often to my families exasperation) I can produce some interesting combinations. We are very lucky in that we have a superb local Indian restaurant which we use quite regularly, more often than not ending up with leftovers. One evening I decided to put some leftover chicken dhansak and sag chana in some leftover pastry, it made a delicious pie. I now quite often deliberately order an extra dish from our Indian, be it chicken or vegetables and make a pie. I still love to make traditional steak and mince and onion pies, but as a cheat, for quickness and ease, this is a great alternative.

Cheats pie

Recipe
2 x 500g pack puff pastry
Pre-cooked chicken or vegetable curry
I egg, beaten

Preheat oven 220c/ gas 7
On a floured surface, roll 1 pack of pastry to the thickness of two £1 coins

Place filling in the middle

Roll out second sheet of pastry to the same thickness and place on top

Press ends together with a fork
Brush with egg to glaze
Place on an oiled baking tray
Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is risen and dark golden brown

Serve immediately.

'It could be argued that there is an element of entertainment in every pie, as every pie is inherently a surprise by virtue of its crust.'
- Janet Clarkson

The above quote is certainly true of my pies!
Love Donna xxxxxxxx