A Whale of a Pie

Local seas, soil yeild ingredients for ‘Whaler’s Pie’

Winslow Anderson

New London, Conn. is one of the culinary capitols of the Nutmeg State. Tiny and dense beyond conception, New London is packed with chefs and home cooks plying their talents in the way the city’s forefathers and grandmothers did.

Naturally, New London’s cuisine revolves around seafood, but other ingredients also come into play. This was never productive farmland, but the alkaline soils around New London are particularly suited to root vegetables.

Groton, once a part of municipal New London, was famous for its potatoes. Stonington, never a part of New London proper, was known for its onions. Even sweet corn grown in North Stonington today still has a tang that distinguishes it from sweet corn grown anywhere else. Waterford was parsnip country. New London still had commercial parsnip patches along its western border until the 1950s. Vegetable gardens in the city are better known for carrots, potatoes, onions, shallots, and turnips than for tomatoes or cucumbers or summer squash. The environment encourages New Londoners to get their hands dirty and dig out their sustenance.

Whaler’s Pie is a New London version of shepherd’s pie. It is a bed of mashed turnips and minced onions mixed with a handful of chopped parsley. Tucked into the bed, is a stew of lobster meat and mussels in butter and a dash of heavy cream laced with that most common New England spice, black pepper. Because this is Connecticut, Whaler’s Pie also contains a pinch of nutmeg to make the filling savory.

Despite the humble root vegetables that form the base of this dish, the filling is fit for an aristocrat and takes as much time to prepare as any monarch’s chef would spend on a banquet plate. The lobster meat and mussels are simmered in the mussel juice and rendered butter. The whole mixture is evaporated into rich brine before the heavy cream is added to provide heft and a silky texture to the stew. The seafood is poured over the turnips and covered with more of the mash. For extra fancy presentation, the cook can grate parsnips over the top and bake the tureen until it is crispy on top. An extra dusting of black pepper completes the dish.

Whaler’s Pie was originally made for New London’s sea captains after they had returned from long years at sea. The original recipe called for a cube of whale fat to be rendered with the butter. The pie was the centerpiece of public meals held by the Jibboom Club, which was a fraternity of sailors who had served in the whaling trade during its heyday.

Not all is traditional in New London. As a city, it attracts immigrants. People from all over the globe are attracted to New London, Conn. for the opportunities the city provides. There are more restaurants of unfamiliar ethnicity per capita than anywhere else on the eastern seaboard. Fresh blood courses through New London’s arteries.

New variations are being tested on old recipes every day. Some restaurants offer Whaler’s Pie with salt cod instead of mussels or fatback instead of lobster. Some use squid and add spring peas to the broth. Some use a base of mashed potatoes, which make a poor substitute for turnips unless they are Groton potatoes mixed with Stonington onions, heavy on the onion.