A sailor's stew: desalted salted meat, onions, potatoes, and pieces of ship's biscuit to thicken it. Nourishing, hot, ideal for warming a freezing night watch.

Why this dish? The hot, hearty meal shared by the men of the ships Davy Jones followed in his wake: a frugal stew marrying the ship's salted meat with softened biscuit. The ordinary fare of those who sometimes ended up in his locker.

Here, taste this, and thank the ship's cook. My poor devils would simmer it for hours in the great galley cauldron, desalting the beef I'd salted in my brine beforehand. They'd crumble the old biscuit to thicken, stir, and it'd hold your belly in foul weather. Many a sailor downed his last steaming lobscouse before I called him to the deep.

How it was made : 'Lobscouse' (which gave the nickname 'scouser' to the people of Liverpool) was the all-purpose dish of northern European sailors. Anything the hold offered was thrown in: salted meat, root vegetables, and the ever-present biscuit to thicken a thin broth.

The contemporary twist : Serve in individual cocottes, topped with a shard of golden ship's biscuit and a drizzle of oil, 'pirate stew revisited' style.

Davy Jones · Charactorium