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Pie and mash – a cultural icon
November 3, 2009

Whether it’s a song from the cockney duo, Chas and Dave or a scene from Only Fools and Horses, the unlikely subject of the working man’s meal – pie and mash – emerges as one …

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Pie mash – and whatever takes your fancy
November 3, 2009

It’s a bit of a truism to say that Britain’s not known for the appeal of its cooking. But perhaps some of that is just because many people simply haven’t discovered some of the peculiar, unusual and quirky dishes that the country has to offer. Some of those dishes have left an indelible mark on the history of the nation. Take the pie mash concoction, for example, that is a defining dish of London. Have you tried it? Have your friends’ tried it? Maybe it’s time to give it a go.

Pie mash parties

How about having pie and mash for a party? It’s almost certain to be something different, with a party that puts a new slant on a traditional piece of old London. The fare you can order in these days for a party or any other kind of special event is certainly able to offer a far wider range of choice than the staple of old – yet it still owes its origins to the dish once known throughout the East End (and parts of South London, too).

What you’ll get

Pie and mash is likely to be the centrepiece of what you’ll be offering your guests. In the olden days, of course, that pie would have been a plain mutton mince, without onions or any other ingredient in the filling. Today, it can be beef, any other meat you care to mention – and even vegetarian versions are available from some suppliers. Whatever the filling, or fillings, for the pies you choose, however, all can be expected to be completed with a simple pastry topping. Any pie-maker worth his or her salt will jealously guard the recipes for such pies and the result is that different flavours are likely to come from different suppliers. If you don’t care for one, there will be plenty of others to choose from!

You might find it surprising, too, how “plain” mashed potato can be made to taste quite different from one pie mash sitting to another. There’s the colour, of course, and then there’s the texture. Do you like it traditionally plain, maybe a little bit lumpy still, or mashed to a smoothly creamy finish? Once again, the choice can be yours, depending on what you order and who you order it from.

What you might also get

The two words “pie mash” just beg for the addition of that traditional accompaniment which Londoners’ down through the ages have always called “liquor”. It’s more like a sauce or gravy, of course, than anything alcoholic and you’ll recognise it by its distinctive green colour. The exact ingredients of any supplier’s liquor will be the most closely guarded secret of all – so you’re unlikely to get very far by asking! It’s giving away very few of those secrets, however, to reveal that the lurid green colour come most usually from the addition of parsley.

One of the other traditional ingredients of the liquor is the water that has been used to boil a favourite side-dish to pie and mash – stewed or jellied eels. The eels, of course, you can take or leave, but, either way, your pie mash party is certain to offer something quite out of the ordinary for you and your guests.

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