Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1802) of Sir Charles Wheatstone who became famous for his many scientific explorations and advances in the Victorian era. Although much work attributed to him in the scientific field, especially the Wheatstone bridge (look it up), built directly on the pioneering work of others, he is rightly celebrated for being the inventor of the English concertina. That’s how I know about him – I’ve always wanted a Wheatstone concertina – but on exploring further I must admit that I find his entire life and work fascinating.

Wheatstone was born in Barnwood, Gloucester. His father was a music-seller in the town, who moved to 128 Pall Mall, London, four years later, becoming a teacher of the flute. Charles, the second son, went to a village school, near Gloucester, and afterwards to several institutions in London. He was not happy in school, though, so when he was about fourteen years old he was apprenticed to his uncle and namesake, a maker and seller of musical instruments at 436 Strand, London.  Let’s go with a traditional Gloucestershire recipe.

Gloucester squab pie, despite the name, is made from mutton (or lamb). It’s similar to a shepherd’s pie in that the “crust” was originally made from mashed root vegetables, but the filling uses layers of apples and onions. Well worth a try. I use the English word “swede” here for what transatlantic types call rutabaga. It’s also known as wax turnip (because of the waxy skin) or Swedish turnip – or, in Scotland, ‘neeps. Sometimes now the pie is made with a short crust in place of the veggies.

Ingredients

1lb/450 gm leftover cooked lamb
1lb/450 gm potatoes, peeled and diced
1lb/450 gm onions, sliced
8oz/225 gm swedes, peeled and diced
2 cooking apples, peeled cored and sliced
5fl oz/150 ml lamb stock
2oz/50 gm butter
salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to or 400°F/200°C.

Peel and dice the potatoes and swede, place into a large pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for until tender (about 25 minutes). Drain and mash with half the butter plus salt and pepper to taste.

Grease an ovenproof dish and place in it alternate layers of lamb and apple and onion mix.

Pour the stock over the layers, but do not cover the meat. Top with the swede and potato mash. Dot the top of the mash with the remaining butter, then bake in the oven for 50 minutes, or until golden brown.