Everyone seems to have an idea that British food is bland and uninspired. I have to say that I think that is wrong. There are so many things I miss. Some are probably not the same as I remember simply because things have changed. When I grew up in England the beef was farm raised in fields and ate good grass and proper food. The lamb was from New Zealand and the oranges came from Jaffa. We had an Empire then and the food was grown and delivered fresh from the milk man and baker. The village butchers did their own slaughtering and so the animals were treated humanely. The shops were clean and the meat was fresh.
So some amazing meals were cooked. The traditional Sunday dinner of roast beef with roast potatoes and mashed potatoes brussels or fresh greens. Its the sort of meal we now have only at Thanksgiving and Christmas, maybe Easter. Not every Sunday as we did back then. Yorkshire Pudding made the meal stretch and was great cold with jam.
We seldom had chicken back then. I have no idea why really. I never did like lamb or mutton but it was another roast dinner meal that we had in the Sping with mint jelly. New potatoes and peas.
Apart from the roast dinners visitors must try the Pork pies, the cheese, pickled onions, deviled eggs. Ploughmans lunch of Fresh crusty bread and thick creamy butter with cheese and pickled onions. Ummmmm nothing like that. I prefer creamy Cheddar cheese but Stilton or any other local tasty cheese would be good.
Pork pie with pickle relish like Branston or Picallily and maybe a piece of cheese. Some of the pork pies have a boiled egg inside. Awesome
Shepherds pie (lamb) or cottage pie (beef) is a really delicious meal. Quite simple using mince (hamburgher) meat and mix of vegetables baked with mashed potatoes on top. The gravy is what makes it so awesome.
Or how about Bangers and mash or a simple Beans on toast favourites of childhood. They dont make those sausages that good anywhere else.
I didnt even mention fish and chips. It used to be served in newspaper then the politically correct people said its not sanitary. well it never tastes as good as when it came from the newspaper. Still its one of the best know of English meals.
Then there are the extra's like Scotch Eggs and sausage rolls or what about Steak and Kidney pie?
Here are a couple of traditional breakfasts. You may be lucky to get something like this at a Bed and Breakfast. Just saying.
This is without even starting on deserts. That will have to be another time.
Sunday dinner..........Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, Brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and gravy. The best meal ever and the only one now to compare is our Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinners. Every week was a variation of that theme. Neighbours would pop in for a cup of tea and mum would say " have you got your roast in" and that would begin a discussion on what Mr Pratt the butcher had worked out for them.
Back then you went into the butcher shop and asked for a roast for the number of people you wanted to serve. He would then take a fresh joint of meat and cut it to the size required. It was rolled and held together with metal skewers and held tight with string.
With the roast would be roasted potatoes tasting extra good cooked with the beef roast.
The Yorkshire pudding was at one time a "filler" just flour and eggs mainly but when cooked with the roast it is just awesome.
Its a real shame that now people go out to eat more and more. A lot of pubs do a traditional English Sunday roast, but its not really the same is it. It was more the fact that before all the cell phones, the ipads and even daytime TV families would do something together after Sunday lunch, the roast would be in and the house smelled heavenly and a game of dominoes or scrabble maybe................snakes and ladders for me if I could get Dad to play. Sigh those were the days
