As Adrian made his way through Cornwall he was inspired to make this local treat.
Ingredients
- 1 kg2¼ lb pastry, store bought
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 30 g1 oz unsalted butter
- 4 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
- 2 onions, peeled and chopped
- 4 soft boiled eggs, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped tarragon
- 8 sardines, bones removed but heads left on 4 of the fish
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 300 g10½ oz Cornish pasty pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
Method: How to make Stargazey pie
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan until the butter is foaming. Add the bacon and fry for 3-4 minutes then add the onion. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the onion is soft then remove from the heat.
Scatter the bacon, onions, chopped egg and herbs over the bottom of a pie dish then top with the half of the sardines (with the heads removed).
Roll the pastry out to a thickness of 0.5cm. Brush the edge of the pie dish with a little beaten egg then top with the pastry.
Top the pie with the pastry and trip any excess from the edges. Crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork then cut four slits in the top of the pastry. Push the remaining sardines into the slits, leaving the heads poking out of the top.
Brush the pastry with a beaten egg then transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve with buttered new potatoes.
