Yes, in a bid to make myself actually look out for stuff that is good to eat rather than trawling through cookbooks I have declared November Best of British Month. Now, this will be a best of British as seen though the myopia of a bloke who has to work for a living in London, so excuse me if I come across all south of England. In fact any suggestions of produce, restaurants or books I should be looking out would be most welcome. I'll be walking, cooking and eating my way round the most upstanding British food I can lay my grubby hands on.
First up though, that most quintessential yet much maligned dish, Fish and Chips. The hunt is on...
5 comments:
I nominate beans on toast! Porridge. Pudding (trifle?). Crumpets. Toad in a Hole. Gammon. English muffins!
And there you have the complete repertoire of all the British foods a Yank who's never been to the UK can think of. Oh, and fish and chips.
One more: scratchings. :D
Hello there from Baking For Britain. Will you be at the 5th November bloggers meet-up? Otherwise I can email you a list of a few cookbooks, and maybe some recipes. The book I currently have to hand is probably a good starting point - English Food by Jane Grigson (Penguin Books). Jane Grigson gives a bit of historic background to most of the recipes, and the book covers everything from Crown Roast of Lamb; Lamb's Head & Barley, with Brain Sauce (how can you resist?!- you definitely need to try cooking an offal dish); Potted Crab; Scotch Woodcock; through to my side of things - cakes and sweets with intriguing names such as Whim-Wham; Wigs; Singin' Hinnies and Stuffed Monkey (not as bad as it might sound). Nigel Slater is usually good with ideas for cooking with seasonal British produce. That Delia woman too.
Look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Wow, thanks for all that Anna that's great. I've been experimenting with Fergus Henderson's book but I'll be on the look out for another Grigson to add to the collection.
to be honest, the best fish & chips i've had was on a ferry from england to france. french ship, too. but in all honesty, whatever quintessentially british thing i've tasted so far has been a let-down... i've had too many bland sunday roasts, and it seems that britain's greatest contribution to all things culinary must be salt & vinegar crisps.
at the same time, though, i am grateful for being here, as the fact that London plays host to the most extensive array of foreign restaurants and foods imaginable is its most beguiling trait. wherever i'll go next, i'll miss just that...
just read about the opening of a new restaurant in london - roast specialise in british food and comes to the borough market courtesy of the founder of the cinnamon club. they specialise in british food, though not as offal-heavy as st. john's... and apparently the best bread and butter pudding around - which i will have to try, ever since my palate was offended by what al murray served up at the recording of f-word i attended ;-)
Post a Comment