Best Roast Tatties

To be fair roast potatoes are pretty good no matter how you do them. Personally I'd rather have roast potatoes than boiled, steamed, or mash if serving up with some meat, veg, and gravy; or Sunday dinner.

However, many in the UK would agree that the best spud for roast tatties readily available at most supermarkets in Britain is the good old 'King Edward', roast in goose fat - but decent dripping or even lard makes a pretty damn good cheaper alternative.

There are a few variants to the way the Great British cook does them; some put them into the hot fat raw, others part-boil or part-steam them first, others almost fully boil or steam them before putting them into the fat. I think the latter method gives the best results.

So this is how I do them, and of course recommend my method in all cases.

You'll need some 'Neddies' (King Edward potatoes), and some meat fat (goose fat is best but is rather expensive, but the next best is dripping - beef, pork, or whatever you have; bacon dripping is my favourite of these - and if that fails then use lard. You could use vegetable, sunflower, olive oil, but personally I think they don't cut it, good old meat fat is the way to go.

By nearly fully cooking the potatoes first then their time in the oven will be concentrated on crisping and browning rather than cooking.

• Wash if necessary, and peel your spuds, then cut them into whatever size you're happy with.

• Chuck them in a pan with a bit of salt, then cover them in cold water.

• Bring them to the boil, then turn down the heat and let them fast simmer until they start to go rough/fluffy round the edges. Try not to overdo it or they will break up.

• Whilst the pan is boiling/simmering put the oven on 200C. Put a generous amount of the fat into a roaster. When oven has reached its temperature put the roaster of fat into the oven - we want it sizzling for when we put the potatoes into it.

• As soon as they've got to this stage then take off the heat and drain immediately (we don't want them to cook some more, so don't leave them standing in the hot water).

• Take roaster from oven and put the drained spuds into it. You may need to spread them out a bit so they are evenly spaced and hopefully not making a lot of contact with each other as this can lead to them sticking together.

• Put in oven and leave them alone for about 20 to 30 minutes.

• After this time the part of potato that's immersed in the fat should be getting nicely frazzled.
• Now take them out of the oven and get in with a slotted spoon or spatula, or whatever you've got to hand, and turn then all over so that the previously uppermost part of each spud is then immersed in the fat.

• Now put them back in the oven and give them another 20 to 30 minutes.

• When done they will be golden brown and crispy around the edges.

• Take them out of the oven and serve straight out of the sizzling fat; if you leave them to stand and cool they'll go soft and soggy and that's not what we want.

Delicious!

Enjoy!

Great British Breakfast

There are many variants on what people consider to be an ideal breakfast.  The health conscious  would say perhaps breakfast cereal (love 'em), cereal bar, grapefruit, and fresh fruit juice or something along that line.  Some might prefer kippers with toast (enjoy that too), or just the toast with butter (or soft spread) or marmalade, or both (love it), and a mug of tea.  Some would perhaps go for scrambled or boiled egg (guess what, I like that also) yet some would go for the 'full monty' so to speak (my favourite).

So here's my idea of the perfect British Brekkie; swimming in grease and deliciously filling:

Bacon, fried eggs, sausages, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried bread, and black pudding; all washed down with a large mug (1 pint preferably) of strong caffeine rich coffee.
However I am also partial to the slimmed down version of toast, scrambled egg, baked beans, and sausages.  Or alternatively fried bread, tomatoes, bacon, fried egg; of course both need to be washed down with a large mug of strong coffee to help wake me up with its caffeine hit.

My personal idea of a mini breakfast is breakfast cereal or toast, or both - or a bacon, fried egg, and mushroom cob; washed down with a large mug of strong coffee of course.

By the way I enjoy drinking tea, and probably drink as much tea as I do coffee; but my first drink in the morning just has to be a large mug of strong coffee (you should be sick of hearing that phrase now).

Anyway, this is my personal opinion but let's have some feedback here; I want you to all tell me what your ideal breakfast consists of.  Please email me at britishbellybusters@yahoo.com or leave a comment on this blog.

Thanks for your involvement!

Back with a vengeance, hopefully

OK, so I've been absent for some time - indeed the last entry I put on this blog site was way back in October, so you may be wondering why I'm bothering now I've been absent for so long.  Well I'm gonna tell you, like it or not, although I'm not really expecting many people to visit and read this particular posting as my readership has become rather slack due to me being rather slack - what goes around, comes around - or so it is said.

You see, I've found a little niche that envelopes my favourite pass-time with writing stuff on the internet and all my focus has been on that subject.  Spare you too many details here but if you click this link and check out my 'Trail Trekking' blog site and 'Facebook' page you'll get the idea.

To be honest with you the main reason I've come back to 'British Belly Busters' is because I've recently completed writing a book and eBook full of recipes - well I say 'writing' when what I really mean is 'compiling' as none of the recipes within it are my own but rather over 140 recipes I've gathered from the internet and set out (occasionally re-written) in regional order.  The point is, I need an outlet to promote this publication and make people aware of its presence in the hope that some will buy; this is partially why I've returned.  What's more I'm also working on another one.

Now I'm not about to try and sell here as it is a free platform and to try and sell from here is against the rules, unethical, and somewhat taking the mick!  What I do need to do however is to start putting up quite a bit of new stuff on here, notifying 'Pingomatic' that I've updated my blog every time I do with the aim of getting some decent readership figures before I try to expand into publishing.

I started this particular blog site way back in June 2011 and so far have received just over 500 page views since then, whereas my 'Trail Trekking' blog site I set up at the end of August 2011 and so far it has received well over 5,000 page views; that's because I've updated it regularly, so I really need to do the same here or at least try and increase the page views somehow.

So there you have it, I'll be posting on here more often from now on - or at least I hope so.  However if you would like more info on the book then blast me an email to britishbellybusters@yahoo.com and I'll sort it for you.

Thanks!

Pete
britishbellybusters@yahoo.com

UK regional recipes continuation

For this part of our UK regional recipe exploration we're going to venture into the north with a few Scottish recipes to tempt your taste buds.

In years gone by people had to make do with what they could forage or get on home ground, long before the big supermarkets came and promised everything one could wish for. Some areas of Scotland are harsh barrren lands where living day to day would prove to be challenge enough for our northern friends and ancestors, and this is of course reflected in some of the recipes from the area.

For example many Scottish regional recipes make use of oats which were hardier than many other cereal crops and could withstand the harsh conditions the harsh conditions, and some of these oatmeal recipes can be found in my new regional recipe ebook that I hope to complete by Christmas, look out for it.
Scotland is famous for it's shortbread and whisky so in the meantime lets look at a couple of recipes that feature them and a couple more besides.

WHISKY TEA CAKE
Makes 1 small loaf

Ingredients:

175g currants
85g sultanas
90ml whisky
1 tablespoon lemon juice
350g plain flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
175g dark brown raw cane sugar
1½ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
175g butter
150ml milk

Method:

1. Soak the dried fruit in the whisky and lemon juice for a few hours, the longer
the better.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.
3. Put the flour, spice, sugar and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and
rub in the butter. Mix in the soaked fruit (do not over work the mix or the cake will be
chewy). Gradually stir in the milk, to end up with a soft dropping consistency.
4. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes, or until firm to the
touch and a skewer inserted comes away from the cake without any traces of
uncooked cake.
5. Leave to cool on a wire rack and then turn out. Slice and spread thickly with salted
butter, or fruit compote and thick cream.

SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

I use this one to make shortbread and it works a treat.

Ingredients:

175g (6oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) cornflour
50g (2oz) caster sugar (and a bit extra for sprinkling)
115g (4oz) butter, diced

Method:

Preheat oven 160 C / 325 F / Gas 3
Lightly flour shortbread mould and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment
Sift together flour, cornflour & sugar in large mixing bowl
Rub in butter until you can knead mixture into a soft dough
Place half the dough into mould & press gently but firmly to fit neatly
Carefelly invert mould onto one of the baking sheets and tap firmly to release fough shape
Mould remaining dough the same way
Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes, until they are just a pale golden colour
Sprinkle a little caster sugar evenly over the top of shortbreads & leave to cool on baking sheets before serving

COCK-A-LEEKIE SOUP

This famous Scottish soup is so substantial, it could be served as a main course. Originally, it had beef as an ingredient along with the chicken, so you could add a bit of left-over roast beef near the end of cooking if you like. It is important to cook the chicken as a whole piece first and then dice it so that the broth remains beautifully clear and golden.

Ingredients:

15 Gram Butter ( 1/2 oz)
300 Gram Chicken portions (12 oz)
300 Gram Leeks, washed well (12 oz)
1.1 Litres Chicken stock (2 pints)
1 Bouquet garni
6 Prunes, stoned and halved
Parsley sprigs to garnish

Method:

Melt the butter; fry the chicken until browned on all sides. Cut the leeks into 4 lengthways, then chop these pieces into 2.5 cm (1 inch) lengths. Reserve the green parts and shred them finely. Add the white pieces to the pan and fry for 5 minutes until soft.

Add stock and the bouquet garni. Bring to the boil, simmer for 30 minutes. Add the green leek pieces and the prunes. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken, get rid of the skin and bones and cut the meat into chunks. Add the meat to the serving dish, then pour over the rest of the soup. Garnish with parsley.

SCOTCH BROTH

Another of Scotland's soup recipes, some refer to this dish as Scotland's national soup. It is best made the day before it is needed so that the fat can be skimmed from the top. This is a hearty and filling dish to be served as a main course.

Ingredients:

700 Gram Shin of beef, diced (1 1/2 lb)
2.3 Litres Water (4 pints)
1 Medium Carrot, chopped
1 Medium Turnip, chopped
1 Medium Onion, chopped
2 Leeks, chopped and thoroughly washed
3 Tablespoon Pearl barley
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Method:

Put everything in a large pan.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

There you have it, four Scottish recipes for your palette. Of course there are many more in my new UK regional recipe ebook out soon. In the meantime if you want a copy of the ones above to keep then as usual click here and download a FREE pdf with them in it.

Enjoy!

Any ideas for this blog or to ask me anything then please email me at britishbellybusters@yahoo.com and I will try and respond quickly.

Bountiful British Berries

September already, I can hardly believe that summer seems to have gone so quickly, but then again it usually does.  To be fair although I like summer it doesn’t really like me; sometimes I suffer with bad hay-fever and it can on occasion be too warm in summer to be comfortable.  I do like winter because of the transformation of the landscape which lends itself to some good winter scene shots with the camera.  However my favourite seasons are spring and autumn; not too warm, not too cold, and constantly changing scenes – birth in the spring and decay in the autumn.

So it’s September now and the start of one of my favourite seasons, but this is all about making the most of the bounty available during the autumn.  At this time of year our hedgerows are laden with the most bountiful harvest of ripe fresh fruit for the taking.  I remember how as a child and in my teens we would spend many a happy day out picking the fruits of the autumn.  My sister, brother and I would go off with Mum armed with empty containers, bags and baskets and return home at the end of the day with containers, bags and baskets full of our pickings.

For days after the kitchen would have the distinct aromas of fresh fruit being prepared in a multitude of ways.  Mum would make blackberry, raspberry, and damson jam, apple pies and crumbles and whatever else she could rustle up with all that fruit.  Meanwhile Dad and I would steal blackberries, elderberries, rose hips and begin the process of turning them into delicious wine to be enjoyed months or even years later.

My daughter and I still go out picking, spending hours gathering the hedgerow fruits freely available only minutes from our home.  I then turn these into much the same as Mum and Dad used to back then.  Do you know that by using common hedgerow fruits that you can gather for free you can make the most delightful jams, jellies, fruit pies and fruit crumbles, and delicious wines; all that can rival anything available commercially for a fraction of the price?  You just need to get off your back-side and have a pleasant day out in the countryside getting them.

This leads me nicely to what will be my next post on here where I will be singing the praises of hedgerow fruits and giving you some great recipes to get you started.  I will also be giving away a free pdf of hedgerow fruit recipes that you can download and keep or print out to refer to in the kitchen.

Just promise me this:  If you go out fruit gathering in the autumn don’t take it all, leave some for our wonderful wildlife and some for other gatherers!  Enjoy yourself and show respect for nature!

Look out for my next post very soon!

Something regional

Continuing with an outline of some of the recipes that are covered in my new UK regional recipe eBook that will be out in time for Christmas, hopefully; I am going to feature a few, but not all, of the recipes you will find there. These will be set out in areas as I did in an earlier post about Derbyshire (see here).


Just north of my home town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire we venture into Yorkshire, Britain's biggest county; so big that it has been split up into 4 seperate areas, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and Humberside (used to be known as East Yorkshire or Yorkshire East Riding).


Yorkshire not only has its fair share of beautiful unspoilt countryside but is also home to some of the largest and most influential cities in the UK; Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and York of course are four that spring to mind immediately.


Yorkshire has a lot to offer visitors and is well worth a visit by anyone venturing into the UK, I'll spare the details here because this blog site is about food but a Google search will bring up millions of pages about Yorkshire.


So back to the mission.


Below are a number of recipes originating in Yorkshire for you to try but I have purposely omitted the famous 'Yorkshire Pudding' from the list:

Yorkshire Parkin


Parkin is essentially the Northern English form of gingerbread. Different parkins are characterized by where they are made and Yorkshire Parkin, one the most famous, is made using oats. Yorkshire Parkin is eaten on Bonfire Night, November 5th, celebrating the famous failure of Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses on Parliament in 1605. Guy Fawkes was a Yorkshireman.


This Parkin Recipe is easy to make and creates a moist sticky cake. However, you will need to store the cake for between 3 days to a week before eating. This allows the cake to soften and become moist and sticky. Delicious.


Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes


Ingredients:


4 oz/110g soft butter
4 oz/110g soft dark brown sugar
2oz / 55g black treacle/molasses
7oz / 200g golden syrup/ corn syrup
8 oz / 225g medium oatmeal
4 oz/ 110g all-purpose/plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1 very large, or 2 medium eggs, beaten
1 tbsp milk


Preparation:


Heat the oven to 275°/140°C/gas 1
Grease an 8" x 8"/ 20cm x 20cm square cake tin.
In a large heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat melt together the butter, sugar, treacle, golden syrup. Do not allow the mixture to get hot.
In a large spacious baking bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the melted butter mixture stirring to coat all the dry ingredients.
Add the beaten egg/s and mix thoroughly. Finally add the milk.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 1 ½ hours until firm and set.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Once cool store the Parkin in an airtight tin for a minimum of 3 days up to a week before eating; this allows the flavors to develop and the mixture to soften and become moist and sticky. The Parkin will keep up to two weeks in an airtight container.

Yorkshire Curd Tartlets Recipe

Ingredients: Makes 10

175 g/6 oz/1.5 cups wholemeal flour
A pinch of salt
150 g/5 oz unsalted (sweet) butter, diced
50 g/2 oz/0.5 cup ground almonds
Cold water, to mix
50 g/2 oz/0.25 cup caster (superfine) sugar
1 egg, beaten
225 g/8 oz/1 cup curd (smooth cottage) cheese
Finely grated rind of lemon
45 ml/3 tbsp currants
Grated nutmeg, for dusting
Thick cream, to serve

Method:
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add 75 g/3 oz of the butter and rub in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the almonds. Mix with enough cold water to form a firm dough. Knead gently on a lightly floured surface. Wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry (paste) and use to line 10 sections of a tartlet tin (patty pan). Beat the remaining butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg, then the cheese, lemon rind and currants. Spoon into the pastry-lined tins and dust with nutmeg. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5 for about 20 minutes until golden and set. Serve warm or cold with thick cream.

Yorkshire Apple Pie Recipe

Ingredients: Serves 6

For the pastry (paste):
225 g plain (all-purpose) flour
A pinch of salt
50 g white vegetable fat (shortening), diced
50 g hard block margarine, diced
Cold water, to mix

For the filling:
3 large cooking (tart) apples, sliced
65g granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
A pinch of ground cloves
75g Wensleydale cheese, crumbled
15 ml/1 tbsp single (light) cream

Method:

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the fats and rub in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix with enough cold water to form a firm dough. Knead gently on a lightly floured surface. Cut in half. Roll out one half and use to line a pie plate. Prick the base with a fork.

To fill, put a layer of half the apple slices on top. Mix all but 15 ml/1 tbsp of the sugar with the cloves. Sprinkle half over the apples, then sprinkle with half the cheese. Top with the remaining apple slices, then the sugar, then the cheese. Dampen the edges of the pastry with water.

Roll out the remaining pastry and lay over. Press the edges well together to seal. Trim, knock up the edge and flute with the back of a knife. Make a hole in the centre to allow steam to escape. Roll out the trimmings, cut into small leaves and use to decorate the top. Brush with the cream, then sprinkle with sugar. Place on a baking (cookie) sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve hot.

That's it for now.  I'm feeling the urge to go and bake something!

If you'd like a PDF of the above recipes then click here to download one free.

Thanks again!

Follow on from Bakewell pudding and tart

As a  follow on from my earlier post about Bakewell tart and Bakewell pudding I have decided to feature some regional UK recipes on this blog; starting of course in Derbyshire (my birth place) and then over time branching out across the whole country.

The aim is also to act as an introduction to the regional British recipe book that I am currently working on, which I hope to release in time for Christmas; but don’t bank on it because it is a massive book that will take me some time to complete.  The book will contain over 100 regional UK recipes which I will need to edit and illustrate.

But this is not the only project I am working on.

I am currently working on 6 different projects: a British regional recipe book, an audio to accompany my already published pet bird guide book, video versions of all my articles, another online media tutorial ebook to accompany the one already published, video tutorials to go with both my media ebooks, and (you’ll love this) a UK regional recipe calendar for 2012, plus I am continuously researching for my many projects; as well as trying to maintain 6 different blogs – so as you can understand, I’m a busy man.

Back to the main point of this particular blog post:

Below are two other traditional Derbyshire recipes I have unearthed in my research.  The ‘brides pie’ was a little outdated (by about 2 centuries) so I have had my dedicated team (me) working tirelessly on this to come up with a modern day alternative.

ENJOY!

Moorland Tart – Derbyshire

Ingredients:
Pre-made shortcrust pastry
¼ lb / 125 g sugar
¼ lb / 125 g chopped peal
¼ lb / 125 g currants
3 oz / 85 g butter or margarine
2 eggs (hard-boiled and finely chopped)
½ nutmeg (or ground nutmeg alternatively)

Method:
Prepare some pastry cases
Warm butter gently to melt
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to form a spread
Line the pastry cases with the mixture
Bake in preheated oven 180 ° C / 350 ° F / Gas 4 until set

A Bride’s Pie – Derbyshire

This recipe has been adapted to modernise it, as it is taken from a very old Derbyshire recipe source. Whether this is still made in the region, or anywhere for that matter is unclear but for tradition’s sake here goes.

Ingredients:
Pre-made puff pastry
2 calves feet (I suppose some beef or veal will suffice if necessary)
1 lb / 500 g beef suet
1 lb / 500 g apples
1 lb / 500 g dried currants
¼ lb / 125 g raisins
¼ oz / 7 g cinnamon
¼ oz / 7 g mace
¼ oz / 7 g nutmeg
*2 oz / 60 g candied citron (peel)
*2 oz / 60 g candied lemon, thin cut
(* maybe 4 oz / 120 g mixed peel might be easier to get hold of)
Glass of brandy
Glass of champagne (fizzy wine is cheaper)

Method:
Boil the calves feet, then pick the meat from the bone and chop very finely (or cook the meat and chop it very finely)
Mix all the other ingredients (apart from the pastry of course) together with the meat
Place mix in pie dish and cover with rolled puff pastry
Decorate with more pastry and bake in oven (temperature unknown) so I suggest 180 ° c / 350 ° F / Gas 4 until pastry well risen and starting to brown.
It might be advisable to heat the filling up before using otherwise the crust may cook whilst the filling stays cool. Stick it in the microwave or warm gently in saucepan, stirring frequently.

The original recipe calls for a glass ring to be hidden inside the pie, assumingly for the said bride to find, but I wouldn’t advise this, maybe a metal ring or a coin would be a safer option. If you’d like a word pad file of the original script I had to work with then please emal me at prenterprises2010@gmail.com  and I’ll be happy to oblige.

If you would like a free pdf of these and the Bakewell recipes for you to print out please drop me a short email with the words ‘R Derbys’ in the title, and I will email it out to you as soon as I can.

Thanks!

prenterprises2010@gmail.com

Bakewell pudding and Bakewell tart

Referring to an earlier blog post where I was ranting off about Cornish pasties and their regional identity protection status (see here), well now is the Bakewell tarts turn!

Bakewell tart; don't you just love it!

Unlike the Cornish pasty the Bakewell tart has so far not been granted any regional identity protection, but I am not surprised at all. You see the almond flavoured sponge topped jam tart found in most shops and supermarkets that most of us know as Bakewell tart is actually a far cry from tradition, and resembles little by comparison to its regional namesake.

'Jam tart topped with almond flavoured sponge cake? That's never been a proper Bakewell!'

A small market town in Derbyshire, UK, Bakewell is quite an attraction to tourists; partially due to the traditional 'tart' or 'pudding' that originated there, but also due to its 'Olde England' charm and the annual traditions in the area such as the 'Bakewell Show' and 'well dressings' (a pagan ritual originating from Derbyshire). There are a few commercial premises within Bakewell that claim to bake and sell Bakewell puddings and Bakewell tarts made to the original recipe.

Although I now live in Nottinghamshire I was born and grew up in Derbyshire, and I still class myself as a Derbyshire man, so matters associated with the area are close to my heart.

Bakewell is also the only built-up area classed as a 'town' (all the rest are villages) that is located within the 'Peak District National Park', and the administrive headquarters of the 'Peak District National Park' authority is located within the town; other nearby towns of 'Matlock', 'Ashbourne', and 'Buxton' all fall outside the National Park boundary.

But enough of the tourist stuff for now, we're supposed to be talking about food here. So let's get back on track.

The famous Bakewell tart claims to originate from Bakewell but by tradition the original was actually a Bakewell pudding and not tart; although the town claims to be the birth place of the Bakewell tart also.

So what's the difference?

The Bakewell tart is made up of a shortcrust pastry base, a layer of jam (preferably raspberry), and topped with an almond flavoured sponge (and often with icing on top of that); whereas the Bakewell pudding is comprised of a puff pastry base, a layer of jam, and topped with an almond and egg based topping - the topping incorporates no flour whatsoever (unlike a sponge) and is made up entirely from ground almonds, egg and sugar - with the ground almonds acting like a type of flour.

Whether you choose to go for the tart or the pudding is down to your own preference but both are delicious.

Either way if you fancy having a go at making your own, whether on a shortcrust or puff pastry base I personally believe that the topping recipe below gives the best results; it is the one I use regardless of what pastry base it has.

110g (4oz) ground almonds
110g (4oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) butter, softened
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon almond essence

Beat all together, preferably with an electric mixer
Pour an equal amount into each jam lined pastry case
Bake at 200 C / 400 F/ Gas 6 for about 30 minutes or until the filling is set and spongy

So easy to do and absolutely delicious!
 

A load of waffle about tatties

Although not British originally but brought into the UK in the middle-ages from the land now known as America, potatoes have become a staple food here in Britain; as popular in the UK as rice in Asia. Thousands of tons of potatoes (spuds, tatties) are now grown in this country to meet consumer demand.



The humble spud of many varieties

 Many traditional British recipes use potatoes as a main ingredient. some of the most popular UK meals have them: the Sunday roast, fish and chips, bangers and mash, fish pie, fish cakes, shepherd's pie, cottage pie, and Cumberland pie (what's the difference? shepherds pie uses lamb meat, cottage pie uses beef, and Cumberland pie can be either but with an extra layer of cheese or breadcrumbs - sometimes both - on top), many stews and casseroles, hot pot is a casserole made using sauted potato slices.

So looking at the above list we see that potatoes are used and cooked in a variety of ways: Chips are traditionally fried, but so are sauted potatoes, French fries, American fries, and crisps; Sunday roast usually has both roasted and boiled potatoes - the boiled potatoes often being mashed - on the subject of mashed potatoes we find that shepherd's pie, Cumberlsnd pie, cottage pie, fish pie and fish cakes all use mashed potatoes. Stews and casseroles contain boiled (but not mashed) potatoes, whereas jacket potatoes are baked in the oven with the skin left on; potato wedges are also often cooked with the skin on and are either oven baked or fried.

Any traditional savoury British meal without some form of potato is often difficult to imagine.

Not bad for something originally introduced from abroad.

Cottage pie, shepherd's pie & Cumberland pie – What’s the difference?

The only true answer of course is, “Who cares? They all taste good!”

The definitive answer would be, “Onions and minced or finely chopped meat topped with mashed potato!”

After hours of painstaking reasearch I think I finally have the answer! – shepherds pie is made from shepherds, cottage pie is made from cottages (watch out for the bits of grit), and Cumberland pie; well nobody seems to know for sure, perhaps it’s made with either but in Cumbria.

In a recent survey when asked what their spouses prefered, 9 out of 10 shepherd’s wives said their husbands prefered shepherds pie over the other two – the other 1 out 0f 10 were vegetarian. The only big exception was 8 out of 10 shepherdesses in the Lake District said their husbands prefered Cumberland pie. No surprise there then! The other 2 out of 10 – had no idea what our surveyors were on about.

In reality though; although none of the results of my research are set in stone it is commonly held that cottage pie is made using minced or ground beef, shepherd’s pie uses minced lamb or mutton, and Cumberland pie can be either but has an extra layer of breadcrumbs on top of the mash (and often cheese also).

The recipe is basically the same for all: minced meat and onions in gravy (sometimes carrots and/or peas are mixed in also but not always) topped with mashed potato, and baked in the oven uncovered so the top starts to crisp and brown. The precise amounts of each ingredient vary dramatically and are usually left to personal preference.

What I do know for sure however is that whether Cumberland, cottage, or shepherd’s all make a delicious hearty British meal, especially when served with some side veg and extra gravy over it all.

So there you have it, call ‘em what you like, they’re all good!

Food - Is traditional British cuisine being phased out in favour of foods with overseas influence?

Many UK foods and ingredients that are taken for granted nowadays were not originally from Britain. For example potatoes, peppers and other spices now regarded as everyday stuff in the UK, are now easily available and used in many recipes.

As the UK is a multi-cultural country over the years foreign influence has had a big impact on the type of foods eaten in Britain with many people and families moving from abroad to live here in the UK and of course bringing their own influences and recipes into the country. Also the ease of transportation over the last century or so has helped many people to travel abroad more often and find food influence and ideas from other nations. A couple of good examples are curry and pizza, both of which are enjoyed by many as a favourite food here.

Foods that are very popular with the Brits but not originally of national origin are endless: Bolognese, curries, kebabs, paella, many rice or past dishes, noodles, goulash, lasagne, kedgeree, chow-mein, sweet and sour, pizza, chicken supreme, coq-au-vin, frankfurters, the list goes on and on.

Although many of these foods are favoured throughout the UK I do feel that you can't beat a good old traditional British meal. Even many UK citizens whose families originated elsewhere love the traditional Sunday roast for example or fish & chips. You can't get much more traditional than that; or can you? For a start both of these use potatoes. The potato is not a native British plant but was introduced during the middle-ages by pioneers (so was tobacco unfortunately) from their travels to the west, now known as America.

Also some consider certain readily available meats such as chicken and rabbit to be British; wrong! Chicken was introduced into western Europe and the UK at about 1000 BC, so yes British chicken is rather ancient in origin but not entirely British. Rabbit, although numerous in the UK, is also a non-native animal but was introduced during the Norman conquest as a ready food source along with hare.

I feel I aught to justify what I'm writing here; I love most food whether foreign or not but I do feel however that so-called traditional UK foods are gradually disappearing in favour of foreign influenced cuisine.
Fortunately I love traditional British food as well as many foods originating from abroad, and I'm sure you do also, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this would you!

So to conclude no I don’t think traditional UK foods are dead but are gradually beginning to take a back seat. However with these articles I will be singing the praises of traditional British cuisine. A dying art maybe, but there are still many out there who like traditional food so not all is lost!

Regional identity protection rant

Not long ago I read about how the good old Cornish pasty had been granted some sort of regional identity protection by the EU Eurocrats. 

So what's that all about then?

Apparently it means that it can now only be sold with the 'Cornish pasty' label if it was actually made in Corwall to a traditional Cornish recipe, and this is meant to protect its regional identity.

If it was made anywhere else other than Cornwall the label needs to be revised like so; 'pasty formerly known as Cornish', 'Cornish style pasty', 'beef, onion, potato and swede pasty' or whatever, but not 'Cornish'.

Oh and by the way, it's allowed to be cooked - or should I say baked - elsewhere as long as it was actually made - or should I say constructed - in Cornwall - to the traditional recipe of course.

Surely the fact that in the past it has been allowed to be made anywhere is what made it so popular in the first place!  Just like some other popular foods that now have similar regional identity protection.

Most of the top supermarkets in Britain - I think it best not to actually name them here, don't want to get in trouble; you'll have to look it up on the net - claim that their Cornish pasties are already made in Cornwall. 

Yeah right! 

I remember not too long ago working in a factory that made Cornish pasties - and loads of other pies and pasties - for most of the top UK supermarkets and guess where it was located?

'Lincolnshire' 

At the time it was one of the biggest UK producers - if not the biggest - of pies and pasties - including Cornish ones - for most of the leading supermarket chains.  Whether they still do or not I don't know but it was big business to them then.

I don't know!  Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that the supermarkets are not being entirely honest with us!

Pete