flipPie and Mash with Parsley Liquor
Pie and Mash with Parsley Liquor
Why this dish? This is THE dish of the East End where McQueen grew up, served since the 19th century in the neighbourhood's pie shops. From a modest family, he ate this beef pie, mash and green liquor standing at the counter or on wooden benches throughout his childhood.
A small golden-crusted minced beef pie, set on a bed of mashed potatoes, all flooded with pale green parsley sauce — the famous 'liquor'. Robust, comforting, no fuss.
Listen, I'm from the East End, and there the pie at the counter is sacred. You take your pie, you mash the potatoes next to it, and you pour the green liquor over — that parsley sauce, it can't be too thick, just enough to wet everything. We ate it standing up, quick, and believe me there's nothing more honest. I never forgot where I came from, and a good plate of pie and mash reminds you with every bite.
- •Lean minced beef — a good portion (pie filling)
- •Flour and suet — equal parts for pastry (pie crust)
- •Floury potatoes — several (mash)
- •Fresh parsley — a large bunch (liquor sauce)
- •Meat stock — as needed (to bind the sauce)
Pie and Mash with Parsley Liquor
A small golden-crusted minced beef pie, set on a bed of mashed potatoes, all flooded with pale green parsley sauce — the famous 'liquor'. Robust, comforting, no fuss.
Why this dish? This is THE dish of the East End where McQueen grew up, served since the 19th century in the neighbourhood's pie shops. From a modest family, he ate this beef pie, mash and green liquor standing at the counter or on wooden benches throughout his childhood.
Listen, I'm from the East End, and there the pie at the counter is sacred. You take your pie, you mash the potatoes next to it, and you pour the green liquor over — that parsley sauce, it can't be too thick, just enough to wet everything. We ate it standing up, quick, and believe me there's nothing more honest. I never forgot where I came from, and a good plate of pie and mash reminds you with every bite.
Ingredients (period version)
- Lean minced beef — a good portion (pie filling)
- Flour and suet — equal parts for pastry (pie crust)
- Floury potatoes — several (mash)
- Fresh parsley — a large bunch (liquor sauce)
- Meat stock — as needed (to bind the sauce)
Ingredients
- Minced beef (15% fat) — 400 g (filling)
- Shortcrust or puff pastry — 2 rolls (base and lid)
- Mashing potatoes — 800 g (mash)
- Butter and milk — 50 g + 100 ml (mash)
- Flat-leaf parsley — 1 large bunch (liquor)
- Beef stock — 400 ml (sauce)
- Flour — 2 tbsp (roux for thickening)
Method
- Fry the minced beef with a chopped onion, season, add a little stock and simmer for 20 minutes until tender.
- Line small pie moulds with pastry, fill with beef, cover with a pastry lid, seal the edges and bake at 200°C for 25–30 minutes until golden.
- Boil the potatoes in salted water, mash with butter and milk until smooth.
- For the liquor: make a light roux (butter + flour), add stock, stir in a large handful of finely chopped parsley, blend until pale green, adjust seasoning.
- Serve: a ladle of mash, the pie on top, everything covered with green liquor.
How it was made : In the 19th century, the pie was often filled with eel (cheap and abundant in the Thames), and the 'liquor' was originally eel cooking water, turned green with parsley. Over time, beef replaced eel, but the green sauce remained the signature of London's pie shops.
The contemporary twist : Serve the pie upside down, crust down, mash smoothed with a spatula and a neat line of liquor — a graphic black-and-green plating worthy of a runway.
Alexander McQueen · Charactorium
