Stargazy Pie. It’s such an evocative name, Stargazy - gazing up to the stars. But Stargazy Pie? I first heard about Stargazy Pie a few weeks ago when top London chef Mark Hix cooked one for the Great British Menu, a cook-off among the UK’s top chef that’s televised on the BBC.
In Hix’s book British Regional Cooking (which I blogged about here), he says Stargazy Pie is a traditional pie from Mousehole (pronounced Mouzul) in Cornwall which is served up on Tom Bawcock’s Eve (23 December).
The story goes that one winter many years ago, the sea was too stormy for any of the fishing boats to go out, and this left the villagers facing starvation and a bleak Christmas, so Bawcock braved the fierce elements, went out fishing alone and caught enough fish to feed the village. It’s said that some of the fish was made into the first Stargazy Pie.
I’ve read on the Food in London blog that no one really agrees on what goes into the pie: “There was very little consensus on what would constitute authenticity. Some had a bechemel-style white sauce, some used breadcrumbs. All agreed the traditional central fish is pilchard, although fortunately most allowed for sardine or mackerel to be substituted. And of course all agreed on the pie’s most striking detail: that the fish heads should be poking up through the pastry, gazing up at the stars.”
In her book Pie, Angela Boggiano says; “Although very dramatic, it is not the most practical of pies for eating.” She’s not wrong, because you do wonder how this pie will be served at a banquet.
Stargazy Pie is a real traditional British pie, in the vein of four and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie. It’s one of those unusual dishes that could only be made by the Brits. Anyway, Hixy - as he’s known to his closest mates - took a gamble by bringing this in this posh cooking competition to decide which chefs would go to Paris to cook for top chefs and diplomats at a dinner hosted by the British ambassador.
Now I know we aren’t big pie people, it’s not part of our culinary tradition but I was thinking that I’d love to do this pie with a Caribbean twist. In the pie that Hixy cooked for the GBM, he used rabbit and crayfish seasoned with star anise, fennel and bay leaves. I would substitute the rabbit with goat and use some jerk seasoning and chadon beni to give it a real Caribbean twist.
I’m fascinated by this dish, but I know the thought of a crayfish sticking out of a pie doesn’t appeal to everyone. When I threatened to cook it, some of my friends joked that they’ll bring some salt biscuits just in case it doesn’t turn out right. They have such little faith!
Here’s Mark Hix’s winning recipe.

Stargazy Pie
Ingredients
back and front legs from 4 wild rabbits (reserve the saddles for another dish, such as a salad)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
large knob unsalted butter
150ml/5¼fl oz English dry white wine or cider
2 litres/3½ pints hot chicken stock
500g/1lb 2oz good-quality puff pastry made with butter
1 lightly beaten free-range egg
For the crayfish
1 tsp fennel seeds
12 black peppercorns
few sprigs of thyme
2 star anise
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp salt
24 live freshwater crayfish
1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock
To serve
greens or mashed root vegetables such as celeriac or parsnip (optional)
small boiled potatoes with chopped herbs (optional)

Method
1. Season the rabbit legs with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and dust them with one tablespoon of the flour. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan until hot, then lightly brown the rabbit over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Carefully remove and drain on kitchen paper.
2. In a large lidded saucepan, gently fry the onions in the butter for 2-3 minutes until softened, but not coloured. Dust with the remaining flour and stir well over a low heat for a minute, then gradually add the wine and the hot stock, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Bring to the boil.
3. Add the rabbit legs and season lightly with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with the lid. Simmer gently for about one hour or until the rabbit is tender. Remove the rabbit legs and leave to cool. The sauce should be fairly thick - if it’s not, continue simmering until it has reduced by half.
4. For the crayfish, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with the fennel seeds, peppercorns, thyme, star anise, bay leaf, and salt. Simmer for five minutes. Plunge the crayfish into the liquid, bring the water quickly back to the boil and simmer for 1½ minutes. Drain and leave to cool.
5. Pick out four similar-sized crayfish for the garnish and set aside. Peel the rest, including the large claws, first removing the head and then squeezing the shell between thumb and forefinger to crack it. Set the meat aside. Crush the shells a little, put them in a saucepan with the chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a sieve into a clean pan and boil to reduce to 4-5 tablespoons. Mix the reduced stock into the rabbit sauce.
6. Once the rabbit legs are cool, remove the meat from the bones. Mix the rabbit meat into the sauce with the crayfish meat. Turn the mixture into a large pie dish or four individual dishes.
7. Preheat the oven to 200C/400C/Gas 6.
8. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until about 3mm thick. Using a sharp knife, cut out a lid that is about 2cm/¾in larger all round than the top of the pie dish. (Or, if you are using individual dishes, cut the pastry into quarters, roll out and cut out four lids.) Brush the edge of the pastry lid with a little beaten egg, then lay it on top of the dish, egg-washed side against the rim. Trim the edge and press down to seal. Cut four small slits in the pastry lid (or a small slit in the centre of each of the individual ones) and insert the whole crayfish, keeping the top half of the body above the pastry lid. Brush the pastry with more beaten egg.
9. Bake the pie for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden-brown (small pies will take about 25 minutes); cover the crayfish with foil if they start to brown. Serve with greens or mashed root vegetables such as celeriac or parsnip and/or small boiled potatoes with chopped herbs.