Pie and peas is a traditional meal in the north of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, consisting of an individual raised pork pie

Pork pie

A pork pie is a traditional British meat pie. It consists of roughly chopped pork and pork jelly sealed in a hot water crust pastry . It is normally eaten cold as a snack or as part of a meal.-Types:...

 made with hot water crust pastry

Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...

 and served with mushy peas

Mushy peas

Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which are first soaked overnight in water and then simmered with a little sugar and salt until they form a thick green lumpy soup. They are a traditional British accompaniment to fish and chips and sometimes mint is used as a flavouring...

 and mint sauce

Mint Sauce

Mint sauce is a sauce traditionally made from finely chopped spearmint leaves, soaked in vinegar, and a small amount of sugar. Occasionally, the juice from a squeezed lime is added. The sauce should have the consistency of double cream...

.

History

The pies are normally bought rather than home-made. Pie and pea shops and stalls used to be a common feature on Northern streets and markets (for example, Pie Toms - now renamed Pie Ivan's in John Street Market, Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

), but these days it is more usually sold in sandwich shops and "Chippies". Some people prefer meat and potato or steak pies, but this is not traditional.

In Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

,steak pies (called simply meat pies) are more commonly eaten than pork pies, although meat and potato pie

Meat and potato pie

Meat and potato pie is a popular variety of pie eaten in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cumbria in Northern England. Of note, this dish is popular in towns such as Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn and, notably, Wigan...

 and butter (buttery potato) pies are also served with peas in many places.

Pie and peas is a staple on the British football terraces and is popular amongst football fans served with mint sauce.