flipEel Pie, Mash and Parsley Liquor
Eel Pie, Mash and Parsley Liquor
Why this dish? The 'pie and mash' shops and jellied eel stalls were the food institution of south London — Lambeth, Kennington, Walworth — precisely where Chaplin spent his hungry childhood. For a few pence, a child could eat hot food standing up. This is the street food of his world.
A small eel (or minced meat) pie, a generous mound of mashed potatoes, all topped with 'liquor' — a green parsley sauce made with eel stock, served warm and vinegary.
In our streets, the pie shop was a light in the fog. You pushed the door, it was warm inside, and the marble counters shone. For tuppence, you got a pie, a mountain of mash, and that green parsley sauce they called liquor — a dash of chili vinegar on top, and you were a happy man. I ate standing up, quickly, watching the street; you never knew if the next day you'd have enough to do it again.
- •Fresh eels (or minced beef) — according to purse (filling)
- •Pie pastry (lard and flour) — enough (crust)
- •Potatoes — a lot (mash)
- •Parsley — a bunch (liquor)
- •Eel stock — a ladleful (liquor)
- •Malt vinegar with chili — as desired (table condiment)
Eel Pie, Mash and Parsley Liquor
A small eel (or minced meat) pie, a generous mound of mashed potatoes, all topped with 'liquor' — a green parsley sauce made with eel stock, served warm and vinegary.
Why this dish? The 'pie and mash' shops and jellied eel stalls were the food institution of south London — Lambeth, Kennington, Walworth — precisely where Chaplin spent his hungry childhood. For a few pence, a child could eat hot food standing up. This is the street food of his world.
In our streets, the pie shop was a light in the fog. You pushed the door, it was warm inside, and the marble counters shone. For tuppence, you got a pie, a mountain of mash, and that green parsley sauce they called liquor — a dash of chili vinegar on top, and you were a happy man. I ate standing up, quickly, watching the street; you never knew if the next day you'd have enough to do it again.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh eels (or minced beef) — according to purse (filling)
- Pie pastry (lard and flour) — enough (crust)
- Potatoes — a lot (mash)
- Parsley — a bunch (liquor)
- Eel stock — a ladleful (liquor)
- Malt vinegar with chili — as desired (table condiment)
Ingredients
- Eel in chunks (or 300 g minced beef) — 300 g (filling)
- Shortcrust pastry with lard — 1 disc + 1 lid per pie (crust)
- Potatoes — 1 kg (mash)
- Butter and milk — 30 g + a splash (mash)
- Flat-leaf parsley — a large bunch (liquor)
- Stock (fish or vegetable) — 300 ml (liquor)
- Flour — 1 tbsp (thickens liquor)
- Malt vinegar — for serving (table condiment)
Method
- Line small pie tins with pastry; fill with eel (or seasoned minced beef), top with pastry lid, seal.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes until golden.
- Boil potatoes, mash with butter and milk to a firm purée.
- For the liquor: make a light roux, add stock, stir in lots of chopped parsley, cook 5 minutes until a fluid green sauce.
- Serve the pie alongside a good spoonful of mash, generously coat with liquor.
- Serve warm, with malt vinegar on the table.
How it was made : Eels were abundant and cheap in the Thames, hence their central place in London working-class food. The 'liquor' originally got its green color and flavor from the eel cooking stock, enriched with parsley. The mash was traditionally spread with a knife swipe along the plate's edge.
The contemporary twist : Without eel, a minced beef pie gives the classic 'pie and mash' still served today in the last historic shops of east and south London.
Charlie Chaplin · Charactorium
