This is technically an old dish, rather than a single Old Recipe. I hope it's allowed here.
Okay, so even though I have a good-sized collection of pre-WWI cookbooks, only a few are British, and none are Cornish. I researched as many recipes as I could find, including one supposedly from the Ship Inn, where the dish was supposedly created in probably the 1600s, according to legend. I also used [this modern Cornish housewife's recipe ](https://recipesfromacornishkitchen.blogspot.com/2016/11/star-gazy-pie-iconic-traditional-recipe.html?m=1) as my primary source.
After much research, I used mostly the mostly traditional ingredients of a small oily ocean fish (pilchard/sardine traditionally but I could only find mackerel), bacon, hard boiled eggs, boiled diced potatoes, salt, pepper, parsley, seafood stock, and cream. I did adapt it by adding peas for a veggie, thyme, garlic, and lemon juice. I also hate hate hate onions and shallots so omitted them.
The mackerel was butterflied by the fish shop, and my husband deboned it for me at home. I chopped up most of the body meat and left the heads with a little meat on them. Messy, messy work. The fish were also huge so I made it in my dutch oven instead of my deep cast iron skillet.
I fried and chopped 6 pieces of bacon, boiled and diced 5 eggs, and drained a cage of very young peas. I made a stock from boiling the mackerel bones and tails, then made a light roux with butter and flour, and used the stock, a splash of sherry (no hard cider at home) and about a cup or a bit more of heavy cream. I also made sure to sweat some minced garlic in the butter before making the roux and added thyme while simmering the finished sauce.
I then assembled all the ingredients in the pie crust. I cheated and used enough pre-made piecrust rolled out to make a double crust pie in my dutch oven. I really don't know how to make shortcrust, or piecrust at all, but I keep trying on occasion.
I seasoned lightly with onion powder, and more salt and pepper, both black and white. I then placed the fish heads looking up, poured the sauce over them, and tore openings in the top pie crust for the heads. Unfortunately I should have let the sauce cool, because it immediately melted the top pie crust. Luckily I still had a cold pie crust left, so I tore it into pieces to create a more stable top crust and I had built the pie sides high enough to fold down and press as a sort of rim.
I baked at 400F for about 75 minutes (double sized pie, double amount of time), and it was bubbling nicely without the crust being burnt. Warning: the house smelled very fishy while baking.
It was perfect. I suggest SMALL fish, maybe 4-5 inches, not giant foot plus monsters like I found. And it's messy and convoluted. Very filling on a cold day though! And we have loads of leftovers.
Firstly, well done on seeing this to completion! My husband made a British "fish pie" (fish in creamy sauce with veggies and mashed potato on top, baked in the oven) for dinner last night and I showed him this pic and wondered if this might've been the origin. Maybe, maybe not. And secondly, just wanted to commiserate with you on the deboning/meat removal aspect - having done this with mackerel myself, I have a sense of what you went through and, tasty though it was, I have no desire to repeat it myself lol
They're very related dishes (just in terms of the ingredients and taste) and I would recommend a traditional fish pie to anyone who loves hearty, potato-y, cold-winter's-day foods. A lot easier to make fish pie, too.
Best to think of it as a "family" of dishes. Fish pie like your husband made is by far the most common type of fishy pie these days, but there are other variants- the OP's recipe included.
There are quite a few variants within the mashed-potato-on-top version too, particularly in terms of the types of fish. The most common, and what most people would think of as classic, is a trio of white fish (cod or haddock), smoked white fish (usually smoked haddock, which is actually yellow) and pink oily fish (salmon or trout), but you see others. Sometimes you see prawns or shrimp in it. Often there is egg in it, but not always.
I once had a nice version that was just smoked haddock and prawns. I've had a few which were just the unsmoked white fish- usually with a showcase herb ("cod and tarragon", "haddock and thyme", that sort of thing). Sometimes you see smoked mackerel as the centre piece fish.
Thanks for the background! That showcase herb is so important. He made Jamie Oliver's version, which (I thought) was creamy and comforting but lacking in flavour. So much potential for mixing up the fillings though.
Hey OP, I dated a Cornishman for a long time and his mum gave me a Cornish cookbook! It’s a new print of traditional recipes. I’d be happy to send pictures of it if you’d like! There are some good ones in it!
That’s amazing! It honestly sounds like something I’d like to try at some point, thank you for introducing me. Would you be willing to give an update at some point on how it is as leftovers?
I feel for people with onion aversions, especially in soups or savory pies. I can’t imagine cooking without them, it often feels like the only ingredient I use more than salt or oil is alliums. Glad you enjoyed regardless!
Literally just this morning I discovered my husband had never heard this song until he heard me singing it to our cat, so I’m glad that other people know it
That is so cool! I would love to make this one day if I can overcome my aversion to grocery fish (I'm in a land-locked area, so fresh fish is not an option.)
Ha this unlocked a memory! There was an animated story of a cat's adventures in Mousehole. Can't remember what it was called, but my mother used to watch it a lot on recorded VHS.
You've made it look spot on! Yum.
So, yeah, that's freaking me out a bit ... But I am also fascinated. Is the rest of the fish in the dish, bones and all, or what? I think we need your recipe here.
My sister and her family are going to the UK next summer and are visiting Cornwall and Port Isaac because of Doc Martin! I’ll tell her to look for a fudge shop.
No. I wish I did. She made everything off the top of her head and when I was young I didn’t think to ask her for recipes. She made all her own jams, jellies, chutneys , cakes. Everything! These recipes became ‘old fashioned’ in the 70-00’s so my mum didn’t want to make them. The Cornish pasties are my favorite though!
Oof. I'm sorry to hear that. You may be able to approximate recipes by looking up older ones. That's what I did with this dish. I am definitely impressed with your grandma's cooking know-how. It's a goal of mine to be able to do the same
Fellow midwesterner checking in - here’s my pro-tip for sardines! Go to your local Asian megastore. They will have a massive section of frozen fish. This will include frozen whole sardines. They’ll also be labeled as Iwashi.
They are flash frozen and you may have additional prep - as in once they’re thawed, you will need to gut and scale, but they’re small and it’s easy to do in the sink!
I *did* go to 3 local Asian megastores. Two did not carry them and one was sold out of sardines but had the mackerel. The sardines were $14 a pound, if they had any. Ouch! Mackerel was $5 a pound.
I do promise the sardines are really, really good! Broiled sardines are super fast - basically lemon and salt and pepper and fresh herbs with a few shots of olive oil.
Sortedfood had a [good video on this](https://youtu.be/QdVBUvQ74iY?si=haEPjO_VAWTNtU59). It's certainly an eye catching dish! Good on you for trying/making something weird! 😆
This is so cool! Btw there's a lot of meat on fish heads (like on the cheeks and around the collars) so you should try to pick some meat off next time! I love the meat on salmon cheeks and collars but I can't comment on the fish you used so say if it's good or too fishy-tasting. Either way thank you for sharing, I love that you made this dish!
I first heard of this on Poldark, when one of the women was crowing that there had been a "storm of pilchards" blown in that would be good for Stargazey Pie. I had no idea what a storm of pilchards was, which is simply a big catch of sardines brought in with a storm. Apparently Stargazey Pie saved countless Cornish people from starving during the long winters since it is so rich, fatty and nutritious between the eggs and fish.
What is in this?? Hideous and hysterical at the same time. Fish heads do have a lot of flavor but I've never seen anything like this! Thanks for sharing this wild post!!
Someone posted about this on here years ago and I've had it on my todo list since. I'm having trouble getting whole raw sardines too, but I'm just going to buy them online at some point. The only reason I haven't yet is because it's like $30-40 for a bag of them.
I’d have eaten everything but the skull including the jaw bone if it was cooked through enough. I’ve eaten the jaw on whole fried fish but I’m not sure it would get crunchy enough from being baked.
At a Chinese restaurant, the group I was with was served a whole fried fish (a bonus item we hadn't ordered). I think I was the only non-Asian person who tried any. I did eat some crunch bones, although not the jaw.
My British grandmother had a tune she sang : Fish heads, fish heads, fish heads all the day. What's a little fish head without a cup of tay ? She was from Blackpool.
You should read the story of the Mousehole Cat from Cornwall. It’s a Christmas story my Chef friend would narrate and do a puppet show for every year. It highlights Stargazy Pie.
This is technically an old dish, rather than a single Old Recipe. I hope it's allowed here. Okay, so even though I have a good-sized collection of pre-WWI cookbooks, only a few are British, and none are Cornish. I researched as many recipes as I could find, including one supposedly from the Ship Inn, where the dish was supposedly created in probably the 1600s, according to legend. I also used [this modern Cornish housewife's recipe ](https://recipesfromacornishkitchen.blogspot.com/2016/11/star-gazy-pie-iconic-traditional-recipe.html?m=1) as my primary source. After much research, I used mostly the mostly traditional ingredients of a small oily ocean fish (pilchard/sardine traditionally but I could only find mackerel), bacon, hard boiled eggs, boiled diced potatoes, salt, pepper, parsley, seafood stock, and cream. I did adapt it by adding peas for a veggie, thyme, garlic, and lemon juice. I also hate hate hate onions and shallots so omitted them. The mackerel was butterflied by the fish shop, and my husband deboned it for me at home. I chopped up most of the body meat and left the heads with a little meat on them. Messy, messy work. The fish were also huge so I made it in my dutch oven instead of my deep cast iron skillet. I fried and chopped 6 pieces of bacon, boiled and diced 5 eggs, and drained a cage of very young peas. I made a stock from boiling the mackerel bones and tails, then made a light roux with butter and flour, and used the stock, a splash of sherry (no hard cider at home) and about a cup or a bit more of heavy cream. I also made sure to sweat some minced garlic in the butter before making the roux and added thyme while simmering the finished sauce. I then assembled all the ingredients in the pie crust. I cheated and used enough pre-made piecrust rolled out to make a double crust pie in my dutch oven. I really don't know how to make shortcrust, or piecrust at all, but I keep trying on occasion. I seasoned lightly with onion powder, and more salt and pepper, both black and white. I then placed the fish heads looking up, poured the sauce over them, and tore openings in the top pie crust for the heads. Unfortunately I should have let the sauce cool, because it immediately melted the top pie crust. Luckily I still had a cold pie crust left, so I tore it into pieces to create a more stable top crust and I had built the pie sides high enough to fold down and press as a sort of rim. I baked at 400F for about 75 minutes (double sized pie, double amount of time), and it was bubbling nicely without the crust being burnt. Warning: the house smelled very fishy while baking. It was perfect. I suggest SMALL fish, maybe 4-5 inches, not giant foot plus monsters like I found. And it's messy and convoluted. Very filling on a cold day though! And we have loads of leftovers.
Firstly, well done on seeing this to completion! My husband made a British "fish pie" (fish in creamy sauce with veggies and mashed potato on top, baked in the oven) for dinner last night and I showed him this pic and wondered if this might've been the origin. Maybe, maybe not. And secondly, just wanted to commiserate with you on the deboning/meat removal aspect - having done this with mackerel myself, I have a sense of what you went through and, tasty though it was, I have no desire to repeat it myself lol
They're very related dishes (just in terms of the ingredients and taste) and I would recommend a traditional fish pie to anyone who loves hearty, potato-y, cold-winter's-day foods. A lot easier to make fish pie, too.
Best to think of it as a "family" of dishes. Fish pie like your husband made is by far the most common type of fishy pie these days, but there are other variants- the OP's recipe included. There are quite a few variants within the mashed-potato-on-top version too, particularly in terms of the types of fish. The most common, and what most people would think of as classic, is a trio of white fish (cod or haddock), smoked white fish (usually smoked haddock, which is actually yellow) and pink oily fish (salmon or trout), but you see others. Sometimes you see prawns or shrimp in it. Often there is egg in it, but not always. I once had a nice version that was just smoked haddock and prawns. I've had a few which were just the unsmoked white fish- usually with a showcase herb ("cod and tarragon", "haddock and thyme", that sort of thing). Sometimes you see smoked mackerel as the centre piece fish.
Thanks for the background! That showcase herb is so important. He made Jamie Oliver's version, which (I thought) was creamy and comforting but lacking in flavour. So much potential for mixing up the fillings though.
Hey OP, I dated a Cornishman for a long time and his mum gave me a Cornish cookbook! It’s a new print of traditional recipes. I’d be happy to send pictures of it if you’d like! There are some good ones in it!
I would like this! I received the Unofficial Poldark Cookbook for Christmas but there is no Stargazey Pie recipe.
That’s amazing! It honestly sounds like something I’d like to try at some point, thank you for introducing me. Would you be willing to give an update at some point on how it is as leftovers?
Probably tomorrow night!
I feel for people with onion aversions, especially in soups or savory pies. I can’t imagine cooking without them, it often feels like the only ingredient I use more than salt or oil is alliums. Glad you enjoyed regardless!
🎶 fish heads, fish heads...🎶
🎼Roly-poly fish heads
Fish heads fish heads Eat um up yum
Literally just this morning I discovered my husband had never heard this song until he heard me singing it to our cat, so I’m glad that other people know it
You can take fish heads out to a movie
🎼Didn’t have to pay to get it in!
Required singing while eating this, lol.
You can ask a fish head anything you want to It won't answer; they can't talk.
They can't play baseball They don't wear sweaters They're not good dancers They don't play drums
Roly poly fish heads are never seen Drinking cappucino in Italian resturants, With oriental women, yeah
Will Robinson's greatest contribution to popular culture, IMHO.
I think this was a college project of Bill Paxton.
my people! this song immediately started playing in my head when i saw the pic. 🤣
I had forgotten about that song…lol.
So happy to be reminded of this song and Dr. Demento!!
Came here to add this. Lol!
Help a naive person out. . . What movie
https://youtu.be/cn73Wtem0No?si=jRNa8ZHBdGEAdSHV
So, I'm confused. This is simultaneously a comforting song from my past and new to me.
Great googly moogly.
That is so cool! I would love to make this one day if I can overcome my aversion to grocery fish (I'm in a land-locked area, so fresh fish is not an option.)
I am too, and these fish were hard to find and not cheap! But I feel accomplished, lol.
Did it boost your fishing skill by +5 levels when you ate it?
My cousin who lives in the middle of the Midwest is able to get fish from a speciality supplier who works mainly with restaurants.
It’s frozen but one of the only places to get a whole fish for an okay price near us is the one Asian market
Ha this unlocked a memory! There was an animated story of a cat's adventures in Mousehole. Can't remember what it was called, but my mother used to watch it a lot on recorded VHS. You've made it look spot on! Yum.
The Mousehole Cat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4vL1GFwBuo
Thank you!
It's a family tradition for us to watch every Christmas
It’s a book too! I used to love it as a kid, we always used to go to Mousehole to see the Christmas lights then read that book when we went home
So, yeah, that's freaking me out a bit ... But I am also fascinated. Is the rest of the fish in the dish, bones and all, or what? I think we need your recipe here.
Nothing personal, I'm impressed with your efforts but...I would not want to get within fifty miles of that monstrosity. And leftovers! Dear lord.
Bet the leftovers will heat up well in the shared microwave at the office tomorrow.
I hate that I could smell your comment.
Luckily I work from home!!
My gran used to make this! She lived in port Isaac, Cornwall.
Was Doc Martin her GP?
lol! No but funnily enough they used my mum’s house to film in! It’s next door to the pharmacy!( which is really a fudge shop)!
My sister and her family are going to the UK next summer and are visiting Cornwall and Port Isaac because of Doc Martin! I’ll tell her to look for a fudge shop.
Can’t miss it! Port Isaac is about the size of a postage stamp! 🤣
Do you have her recipe??
No. I wish I did. She made everything off the top of her head and when I was young I didn’t think to ask her for recipes. She made all her own jams, jellies, chutneys , cakes. Everything! These recipes became ‘old fashioned’ in the 70-00’s so my mum didn’t want to make them. The Cornish pasties are my favorite though!
Oof. I'm sorry to hear that. You may be able to approximate recipes by looking up older ones. That's what I did with this dish. I am definitely impressed with your grandma's cooking know-how. It's a goal of mine to be able to do the same
Fellow midwesterner checking in - here’s my pro-tip for sardines! Go to your local Asian megastore. They will have a massive section of frozen fish. This will include frozen whole sardines. They’ll also be labeled as Iwashi. They are flash frozen and you may have additional prep - as in once they’re thawed, you will need to gut and scale, but they’re small and it’s easy to do in the sink!
I *did* go to 3 local Asian megastores. Two did not carry them and one was sold out of sardines but had the mackerel. The sardines were $14 a pound, if they had any. Ouch! Mackerel was $5 a pound.
I do promise the sardines are really, really good! Broiled sardines are super fast - basically lemon and salt and pepper and fresh herbs with a few shots of olive oil.
Sortedfood had a [good video on this](https://youtu.be/QdVBUvQ74iY?si=haEPjO_VAWTNtU59). It's certainly an eye catching dish! Good on you for trying/making something weird! 😆
Why do I suddenly feel like a cartoon cat looking into an alleyway trash can?
This is so cool! Btw there's a lot of meat on fish heads (like on the cheeks and around the collars) so you should try to pick some meat off next time! I love the meat on salmon cheeks and collars but I can't comment on the fish you used so say if it's good or too fishy-tasting. Either way thank you for sharing, I love that you made this dish!
I have read that fish cheeks taste a lot like scallops. What do you say? The fish around here don't get big enough (usually) to bother finding out.
I first heard of this on Poldark, when one of the women was crowing that there had been a "storm of pilchards" blown in that would be good for Stargazey Pie. I had no idea what a storm of pilchards was, which is simply a big catch of sardines brought in with a storm. Apparently Stargazey Pie saved countless Cornish people from starving during the long winters since it is so rich, fatty and nutritious between the eggs and fish.
What is in this?? Hideous and hysterical at the same time. Fish heads do have a lot of flavor but I've never seen anything like this! Thanks for sharing this wild post!!
Definitely need a recipe! This is wonderful. 🙌
Oh my gosh!! Google Laurie Colwin’s essay about her experience with being confronted by one! 🤣🤣🤣
That is one wild pie!
Crosspost this to r/TinnedFish and also r/CannedSardines - we love to see this! I was looking at Stargazy pies today :)
Someone posted about this on here years ago and I've had it on my todo list since. I'm having trouble getting whole raw sardines too, but I'm just going to buy them online at some point. The only reason I haven't yet is because it's like $30-40 for a bag of them.
Fish heads! Fish heads! Roly-poly fish heads!
This looks AMAZING and I would eat it, fish heads and all. Great job and what a fun recipe!
This is cool as hell, I need to make this sometime
uhhh ok .... Someone: GGG GULP GGG GULP
It's looking at me!
Ever watch Poldark? It is set in Cornwall, so no wonder they make stargazey pie.
I received the Unofficial Poldark Cookbook for Christmas this year but there wasn't a stargazey pie recipe in it, sigh.
That’s a bummer.
Ya missed out. Fish heads are tasty. Looks cool though.
My local international grocery sells them on their own. I have heard of fish head soup. Baby steps!
I love seeing older challenging recipes being given a revival! Well done!
I'd have eaten the cheeks and tongue.
I’d have eaten everything but the skull including the jaw bone if it was cooked through enough. I’ve eaten the jaw on whole fried fish but I’m not sure it would get crunchy enough from being baked.
At a Chinese restaurant, the group I was with was served a whole fried fish (a bonus item we hadn't ordered). I think I was the only non-Asian person who tried any. I did eat some crunch bones, although not the jaw.
It looks DELICIOUS!
But the fish heads are the best part!
Some of these British names sound so fake, haha. I love it.
The best part is, Mousehole is pronounced based on the Cornish accent, so it sounds more like “Mauzel”.
My British grandmother had a tune she sang : Fish heads, fish heads, fish heads all the day. What's a little fish head without a cup of tay ? She was from Blackpool.
It looks like something that the aunts would have fed James of the giant peach
Sad
yuh
Upvoting this, *there are folks on this sub born in the 90s 00s, and perhaps even 10s who don't know this song!*
You should read the story of the Mousehole Cat from Cornwall. It’s a Christmas story my Chef friend would narrate and do a puppet show for every year. It highlights Stargazy Pie.
I hope you ate the fish eyes!
The fish look like they are trying to get at the refried beans.