Devizes pie

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Devizes pie is a traditional English pie from Devizes in Wiltshire. It is made with offal cooked inside a hard flour-and-water crust called huff paste. The filling once included calf’s head, brains, tongue, lamb, veal, bacon and eggs in a rich gravy. The pie probably began in the 1400s, but it faded away and was rediscovered several times. An 1830 recipe book and notes by Florence White in 1932 show its history, and a revival happened in the 1960s, with a further revival in 2006 during the Devizes Food and Drink Festival. Modern versions often use less offal and replace some meats with lamb, veal, ham or bacon. A 1956 Times recipe described thin slices of boiled calf’s head with brains and tongue, plus eggs and meat, in gravy. The pie is topped with huff paste, but the paste is removed when the pie is cold and the pie is turned out onto a plate. The dish gained TV attention in 2015 when Terry Wogan tried it in Devizes. Some later claims linked it to IBS relief because of nucleotides in offal, but this is not proven.