Stargazy Fish Pie Recipe From Cornwall
Striking seafood pastry dish, the Cornish Stargazey Fish Pie, delivers plenty of omega-3s from pilchards or fresh sardines, and it’s one that I haven’t tried before researching for this blog post! And for a Cornish person, that’s shocking.
One of the first pies contained sand eels, horse mackerel, pilchards, herring, dogfish, and ling, as well as a seventh fish. The primary ingredient in a traditional pie is pilchard (sardine), though mackerel or herring can be substituted.
Richard Stevenson, chef at The Ship Inn in Mousehole, suggests using any white fish for the filling and pilchards or herring for presentation. To make the pie more palatable, the fish should be skinned and boned (except for the head and tail). Along with the fish, other traditional ingredients include thickened milk, eggs, and boiled potatoes.
Although it’s not a recipe you’ll find a lot in Cornwall anymore. I’m not sure if it’s anything to do with the fish heads sticking out of the top that puts people off, but trust me, you need to overlook that part…it’s delicious.
For more Cornish recipes, try my moist buttermilk scones recipe or traditional Cornish splits served with clotted cream and jam. Or maybe some Cornish ice cream? Dessert is served! Looking for a lunch that’s great hot or cold? Try this easy Cornish pasty recipe. You won’t be dissappointed!
The History of Stargazy Pie
The origins of this dish are thought to lie in the village of Mousehole in Cornwall (not far from where I was born!) a long time ago, where it is traditionally eaten on Tom Bawcock’s Eve to celebrate Tom Bawcock’s heroic catch during a winter storm.
In the modern festival, combined with the Mousehole village lights, the entire catch was cooked into a huge pie containing seven kinds of fish and saved the village from starvation.
There is evidence that this festival dates back to very ancient times, to pre-Christian times. Bawcock’s story was popularised in a children’s book by Antonia Barber, The Mousehole Cat, which illustrated the Stargazy pie.
Ingredients needed for Stargazy Pie
Scroll down to the recipe card for exact quantities.
Smoked bacon lardons – or unsmoked is fine too.
White onion
Salted butter – or unsalted is fine too.
Plain flour
Fish stock
Double cream – you could also use single cream but the sauce may not be as thick.
Fish pie mix – this could be a selection of white fish, salmon, haddock, kipper – you choose.
Freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
Fresh chopped chives
Hard boiled eggs
Whole sardines – you could use any small, whole fish, such as mackerel for example.
Ready-rolled shortcrust pastry – or if you feel inclined, make your own.
Egg and milk to make a glaze
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Where to source whole sardines
Boxes of iced fresh whole sardine and pilchard, Sardina pilchardus, can be sourced at Billingsgate Fish Market, near Canary Wharf, E14 London and other famous large operating fish markets.
Other places selling sardines online include The Fish Society selling whole wild Atlantic sardines; The Cornish Fishmonger and a low cost option: Morrisons (you could also try in store if not available online).
Equipment Needed
- A large pan
- Chopping board
- Chef’s knife
- Dinner knife
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring jug
- Weighing scales
- Rolling pin
- Deep pie dish approx 23cm wide – mine is similar to this one.
- Small bowl for glaze
- Pastry brush
What’s the difference between a sardine and a pilchard?
Fish merchants will know the difference between selling whole sardines and pilchards. From a biological perspective, sardines and pilchards are exactly the same fish. At 15cm they are still sardines, but by the time they have grown to 16cm they are officially pilchards. That’s how the UK industry has traditionally made the distinction.
Next time there is the chance to buy some fresh whole sardines or pilchards from a fishmonger, food hall fish counter, fish supplier or fish market, consider cooking the Stargazey Pie to support the Cornish cuisine.
How To Make Stargazy Pie (step by step)
Step 1 – Melt a chunk of butter in a saucepan and fry off your onions and bacon lardons until crisp and softened.
Step 2 – Add the flour to make roux, stirring for a minute. Pour in your fish stock and bring to a boil. You may notice the sauce starting to thicken already. Stir for a few minutes more until properly thickened and then pour in your cream. Do the same again until you have a thick sauce.
Step 3 – Stir in the chopped fish, the parsley and chives. Fold in the chopped boiled eggs. I only halves mine but you can do quarters, whatever suits you.
Step 4 – Roll out your pastry until 3mm thick and wider than your pie dish.
Step 5 – Pour the fish pie sauce into your dish. Place the sardines standing up in the pie dish. If they are too long, like mine were, you can also just lean them on the sides. I did one in each corner of the dish.
Step 6 – Cut four slits in your pastry in approximately the areas where your sardines are. Pick up your pastry carefully and lay it over your dish, pulling through the sardines heads one by one. Carefully press the sides of the pastry onto the pie dish to seal it and trim off the long edges.
Step 7 – Make a glaze with an egg and your milk, whisking them together and brush all over the pastry with your pastry brush. This will help give the pie a nice, brown colour. Bake in a hot oven, around 220 degrees C for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with the vegetables of your choosing (we went for peas!) and enjoy!
Recipe Variations
There are numerous recipe variations based on traditional ingredients, some include hard-boiled eggs, bacon, onion, mustard, and white wine. Other options to the main fish include crayfish, rabbit, and mutton. The stargazy pie is always covered with a pastry lid, usually shortcrust but sometimes puff pastry, through which the fish heads and tails protrude.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you eat the fish heads in Stargazy pie?
It’s your choice. There is a proper fish pie underneath the pastry so there is not need to eat the heads, however if you want to, there’s not stopping you!
What does stargazy pie taste like?
Like a comforting hug. Imagine a creamy fish pie topped with buttery pastry. Those are the flavours you’ll get: salty, seafood tastes of the seas with creaminess from the sauce and a little crunch from the pastry. The perfect winter food.
Stargazy Pie
Equipment
- 1 large pan
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Chef's knife
- 1 dinner knife
- 1 Measuring spoons
- 1 Measuring Jug
- 1 Weighing scales
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 deep pie dish 23cm wide approx
- 1 Small bowl for glaze
- 1 Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- 1 onion
- 200 g smoked bacon lardons
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 300 ml fish stock
- 150 ml double cream
- 300 g fish pie mix haddock, white fish, salmon…
- 1 tsp fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
- 1 tsp fresh chives chopped
- 3 boiled eggs
- 4 whole sardines
- 320 g ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
- 1 egg
- 50 ml milk semi or whole is fine
Instructions
- Melt a chunk of butter in a saucepan and fry off your onions and bacon lardons until crisp and softened.
- Add the flour to make roux, stirring for a minute. Pour in your fish stock and bring to a boil. You may notice the sauce starting to thicken already. Stir for a few minutes more until properly thickened and then pour in your cream. Do the same again until you have a thick sauce.
- Stir in the chopped fish, the parsley and chives. Fold in the chopped boiled eggs. I only halves mine but you can do quarters, whatever suits you.
- Roll out your pastry until 3mm thick and wider than your pie dish.
- Pour the fish pie sauce into your dish. Place the sardines standing up in the pie dish. If they are too long, like mine were, you can also just lean them on the sides. I did one in each corner of the dish.
- Cut four slits in your pastry in approximately the areas where your sardines are. Pick up your pastry carefully and lay it over your dish, pulling through the sardines heads one by one. Carefully press the sides of the pastry onto the pie dish to seal it and trim off the long edges.
- Make a glaze with an egg and your milk, whisking them together and brush all over the pastry with your pastry brush. This will help give the pie a nice, brown colour. Bake in a hot oven, around 220 degrees C for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with the vegetables of your choosing (we went for peas!) and enjoy!
