PROPER CORNISH RAW FRY

I have not spoken to a single Cornish person, older than myself [70] who has not eaten and enjoyed Raw Fry. A staple in the diets of bygone Cornish folk, miners, fisherfolk and farmers alike, second only to a pasty.  But everyone I have spoken to, has a slightly differing version. My husband remembered his mother using potato and swede, a friend from Stithians, Joyce, says her mother only used potato and onion…. and so it goes on. My good friend Jeny says that her mother always used a shortcrust topping, placing it in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes before serving. But they ALL agreed you start off with bacon!! Proper bacon, that is. I am sure there are as many slight variations as there are villages and towns in Cornwall! Well, almost. Raw Fry has been cooked for ages. I set about trying to re-create the best Raw Fry I could! I was determined not to Post until I was happy with the final result. One thing I found out right away - it is much nicer with swede! Then there is the problem with our “modern” bacon, injected with water. Do NOT use this bacon. I bought a whole ham hock from the butchers in Falmouth and with no water added, I was assured.

Take:

About a small half of a whole hock, chopped with a little fat left on, or a piece of bacon, left whole. I made a delicious Ham, vegetable, bean and potato stew with the other half.

A finely chopped medium onion or large Shallot. Swede and Potato in equal quantities. Poached or fried egg to finish, if you wish, or pop a crust over and bake. Some herbs of your choice perhaps and finally plenty of good seasoning - not too much salt, because of the bacon, but plenty of fresh ground pepper.

Chip the veg as you would do for a pasty, the swede smaller than the potato. Take a small to medium fry pan and heat it up. Fry off some of the pork fat until you have a nice base, then remove it. Now fry the bacon and after a little while add the onion, then the swede. Cook for a few minutes.  Put the kettle on for boiling water.  If there is not a lot of fat, add a little lard or dripping. Now put in the chipped potato and stir, making sure everything is cover with the fat. [here is where I sprinkled in a very small amount of vegetable bouillon, but the ancients would not have had that].  Season well with sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Keep the pan on high and pour over some boiling water until it is within half an inch from the top of the veg and bubbling like mad. [be careful, it will spit]. After a half a minute turn the heat right down and cover.  I used a round of foil, loosely scrunched.  Simmer gently until vegetables are soft. The swede and potato will look the same colour as when they first went in the fry pan,  giving rise to the name of the dish - Raw Fry [or so I have been told]. Top with a poached egg if you wish.  A very quick, delicious wholesome meal, handy for knocking up when you come home from the mines and fields. If some folk were not lovers of bacon, small thin strips of skirt was used instead. I would also imagine some would add chopped parsley or other readily available herbs, like chives as I did. I just went outside my back door and picked some.

Note: Whole large hocks cost around £3.99 and I made two delicious meals from it. The bacon is full of flavour and darker than other cuts. Just lovely and my husband ate the above for his tea, in Cornish heaven as he munched away. The secret is using good bacon, from a whole piece, with NO added water. PLUS, warmed up it is even scrummier, if that is possible.