To make a Pie with Parsneps and Oisters very good is a traditional Stuart recipe for a classic layered pie of sliced, boiled, parsnips layered with oysters and hard-boiled egg yolks that's baked in a cream shortcrust pastry case with butter. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Stuart version of: To make a Pie with Parsneps and Oisters very good.
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Original Recipe
To make a Pie with Parsneps and Oisters very good (from Hannah Woolley's Queen-like Closet 1670)
42. To make a Pie with Parſneps and Oiſters very good.
Take your Parſneps tenderly boiled; and ſlice them thin, then having your Paſte ready laid in your baking-pan, put in a good ſtore of Butter, then lay in a Lay of Parſneps, and ſome large Mace, and Pepper cracked, then some Oiſters and Yolks of Eggs hard boiled, then more Spice and butter, then more Parſneps, then more Oiſters, then more hard Eggs, more Spice, and cover it well, and bake it, and ſerve it in hot.
Modern Redaction
The Stuarts were notorious for the lack of vegetables in their diet. Mostly because they distrusted anything that grew in the ground, believing that it might transmit pestilence. PArsnips were a rare exception to this, valued because of their sweetness.
Ingredients:
400g Stuart pastry for pies and pasties (ie made with 400g flour)
600g parsnips, pared and boiled whole for about 30 minutes, or until tender
100g butter, diced
1/2 tsp ground mace
cracked black pepper, to taste
24 oysters, shucked and halved crossways
10 hard-boiled egg yolks, halved
Method:
Take just over half your pastry and roll it out until large enough to cover the base and sides of a deep pie dish. Sprinkle over half the diced butter then slice the parsnips thinly and arrange half in the base of the pie dish. Season with half the mace and the cracked black pepper then add a layer of half the oysters and half the egg yolks.
Top with the remaining butter then add the remaining parsnips. Season with mace and black pepper then add the remaining oysters and egg yolks. Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the top of the dish. Crimp the edges together and tim off any excess pastry. Cut steam holes in the top then cut the left-over pastry into decorative shapes and use to decorate the top of he pie. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is piping hot.
