Pilchard Curry!

[GillyGee]

I have just made and thoroughly enjoyed a pilchard curry, this cookery book has been on my shelf for years and recipe has just had its first and certainly not last outing - it was delicious - anyone else tried it or anything similar?

[gingejbee]

Sounds terrible! However, Lidl do canned herrings in all sorts of sauces including curry sauce which are delicious.

[DTCwordfan]

can you share the recipe....

if you like pilchards how about one of our County dishes?

Stargazy Pie Ingredients: Serves 8.


Ingredients.
One 8" (200mm) shallow pie dish.
6 to 8 pilchard. 2 eggs. 3 rashers bacon. 1 lemon.
One medium sized onion.
Salt and pepper to season, (sea salt for greater authencity).
Parsley and tarragon for flavouring and garnish.


Method:

Gut, clean and bone the fish, leaving on the heads and tails. (You may find the flesh is so fresh you can pull the backbone free just using your fingertips without needing a knife.) Take the onion. Finely chop. Chop into squares the bacon. Cut the lemon in half; set two slices from to one side for decoration. Squeeze and save the juice. Finely grind the rind. Boil until soft, not hard two free-range eggs. Cut into small dices.

Either mix and roll enough ingredients to make approx. 500g of shortcrust or flaky pasty. (We suggest if you don't have the patience buy some ready prepared frozen pasty from the your local supermarket. Cut the thawed pasty mixture into two halves.) Roll one half down to thickness sufficient to cover the base of your pie dish. Cut off the overlapped edges. Coat the edge with either milk or water to ensure the pasty lid will stick.

Either then: Carefully your pilchards, into the bottom of the dish arranging them, like the spokes of a wheel, around the edge of your dish. Place the mixed chopped onion, eggs and bacon in the gaps between the fish. Some recipes suggest stuffing the with half the finely chopped mixture, but given the small gut of the pilchard is it worth trying to do so? Add the lemon juice and cover with your pasty lid pressing down around the fish to seal the pie, trim the edges of overlapping pasty and crimping the edges in true Cornish style.

Or (and we find this more authentic) place all your chopped ingredients, including seasoning into the dish. Cover with pasty lid, trim the edges of overlapping pasty, crimp as above, then carefully cut slits into the pasty, hold open with blade of a knife, and gently push the whole fish into the slots, leaving just the heads or tails showing. Add the lemon juice and then seal the slits. Coat the now completed pie with a beaten egg.

Cooking your Pie

Place in the middle of a pre-hearted oven gas mark 6, 200 c for around 30 minutes, until golden brown. For larger pies more time might be needed before it is cooked.

Serve piping hot with sprig of parsley garnish and Cornish new potatoes.

[GillyGee]

Hey thanks for your recipe will give it a go and yes I can share the recipe here you go:

Serves 2 or 3

2 medium sized onions
1 tabsp of oil or 1/2oz butter
1 tabsp curry powder
1 tsp of garam marsala
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder ( but leave this out if you want a mild curry)
1 green pepper
1 small eating apple
pinch of salt
15 oz can of pilchards in tomato sauce
1 tabsp of white wine

1. Peel and chop onions
2. Heat oil/butter in a frying pan and fry onions gently for a minute or two
3.Sprinkle in curry powder and other spices and continue frying until the onion is soft
4. Remove core and seeds from green pepper chop up flesh and add to the pan, similarly peel and core the apple and chop up and add to the pan.
5. Add pinch of salt then tip the pilchards put of the can on top of the onion mixture rinse the can out with a tabsp of white wine or water if you wish and pour over the fish, cover the pan and let it simmer until it is heated right through.

serve with plain boiled white or brown rice

Enjoy!

[DTCwordfan]

thanks - will go fresh pilchards (sardines) as they are dirt cheap down here.

[GillyGee]

Then I am guessing you would have to extend the cooking time once they have been added to the onion mixture and possibly the amount of liquid anyway good luck with it

[DTCwordfan]

absolutely and used some fresh chopped up tommies, perhaps with a wee bit of tom paste in it....

[Buenchico]

Have you seen my Pilchard Bake recipe, which I posted for Mrs Chappie, here
http://www.theanswerb...k/Question655723.html

. . .and which she described as 'scrummy' here?:
http://www.theanswerb...k/Question658286.html

Chris