My friends from Italy have told me that they noticed not one British Restaurant in our town, yet we have restaurants with menus from all over the world. Why? British cooking is way ahead of other countries. We have the best food in the world in our shops, and British recipes are so simple that you can almost cook a meal with your eyes closed. The Italians who have stayed with me have all gone home to make for their families the British cooking sampled in our home. They noticed that I don't spend much time in my kitchen - because most of it is spent writing poetry. ha ha. So it has to be quick and simple - - - and delicious. I noticed the poem "Fool Britannia" and, sorry, I didn't have my glasses on and expected a poem about food. Disappointed, I wrote my own. Enjoy - - -
PS Many local pubs do good British cooking, though some call themselves "Bistros" and serve things with strange names! eg: Lamb Henry. (What is that?)
Where has our British cuisine gone -
Not only the bangers and mash?
Why do we eat all these Chinese meals
As we spend our hard-earned cash?
Has our bread and butter pudding gone?
And apple crumble, too?
Where has the liver and bacon gone
Or the delicious home-made stew?
Where did you ever read these words,
On a restaurant in the street:
“We only serve British cooking here –
Fresh vegetables and local meat”?
Our third Italian restaurant’s here –
Perhaps you think this is good,
But my Italian friends all say to me
“We’ve come for your British food.”
When I speak of our English cooking skills,
I don’t speak of the“mean-cuisine” –
An artistic piece of something strange
On a plate that’s far too clean.
It's the kind of meals my mother made –
Good meals beyond compare.
The sort of food worth waiting for
Made with great love and care..
So, be proud of your British menus –
The visitors think they are great.
Thank God for our lovely British beef
With Yorkshire pudding on our plates.
copyright 2007
www.whiteheadm.co.uk
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I'm hungry now!
Written by Monkeymox (16 comments posted) 14th September 2007 | | I like this! Not true for me though, because my parents don't hold with foreign food! | Good
Written by Josie (2632 comments posted) 14th September 2007 | | Have a good British meal tonight and thanks for your message. |
Written by Fledermaus (3207 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | When in a hotel, I always take the full English breakfast (allthough English people told me they usually just eat cereal), but the few other experiences I have with British food weren't too pleasant, and I remember that when visiting London, we went to Chinatown every evening for dinner (which may also say something about Chinese restaurants in Britain).
On the other hand, I think it's very good that British promote their national dishes to foreigners: Haggis, fish and chips, salt-and-vinegar crisps, HP sauce... One can't visit Britain and not eat them. |
Written by fellpony (1536 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | I agree, Josie - but at least some celebrity chefs are trying to do "British food" justice nowadays.
However: Fledermaus, didn't Fish and Chips originate from Italian immigrants, and get adopted, much as Indian and Chinese food have been? | To Fledermaus and fellpony
Written by Josie (2632 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | | Fledermaus: You've tasted nothing until you've tasted really good English bacon. My Italian friends tell me that they have nothing to compare to it in Italy: try some home cured back bacon from a good butcher. Students from abroad don't do well in England, so they tell me. The agents keep most of what they pay, and the hosts get very little to feed them on - so they get poor food. Were you a student living with a poor family? Fish and chips, cooked really well, are wonderful (never mind the calories). We have the top award fish and chip restaurant in Britain in Skipton. (Details on request). To Fellpony: Yes, I see they are, but why are the numbers of "ready meals" still increasing on supermarket shelves when it only takes me, at the most, 15 minutes to prepare a wonderful meal? It can't, therefore, be TIME. |
Written by Fledermaus (3207 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | Hi again Josie :-)
I have to admit I only visited Britain as a tourist or visitor to (Dutch student) friends, so I probably never realy ate what the ordinary British family eats I guess. Yet what we did get in restaurants wasn't too great. Perhaps we just picked the wrong ones though, for when I was in Ireland, I did like the local food, and that can't be too different from Britain I supose. | Fledermaus
Written by Josie (2632 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | | I don't think that the Irish meals would have been very different from meals in other parts of Britain. There are, of course, local specialities. I was lucky because I came from a family that had gone through war years and most of our food came fresh from our garden. Organic? Yes, I am sure it was. It didn't have additives for certain. Did you have steak and kidney pie, cottage pie, roast pork with apple sauce or fish pie? Did you have roast lamb with mint sauce, with roast potatoes and fresh vegetables? These are English dishes which are so easy to make. What do the rest of the GW readers like in the way of British cooking? |
Written by maipenrai (783 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | black pudding, mushy peas, chips, and a hollands meat pie, who could ask for anything more.
a good write is this.
bernie | Evening josie
Written by Sinnerman_Pfank (17 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | Beautifully structured as usual. Having lived and worked in several countries, I can honestly say we give ourselves a hard time in this country about our food. Some of it is spectacular. Welsh Lamb? Best in the world!!
Sinnerman (off to write one about biscuits!)
P.S. As requested, recipe for lamb Henry below!
Best wishes
(4-4 1/2 lb) leg of lamb
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 sprig rosemary
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
10 ounces dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
For the Redcurrant and Mint Sauce
3 tablespoons good-quality red currant jelly
4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt & freshly ground black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Crush the garlic and sea salt to a paste in a pestle and mortar. Add the oil, the chopped rosemary leaves and a good seasoning of pepper. Mix well.
Spread a large sheet of foil over a roasting tin. Place the lamb on it and, with a skewer, stab the fleshy parts of the joint several times. Spread the rosemary mixture all over the upper surface of the lamb and tuck in the sprig of rosemary.
Bring the edges of the foil up over the lamb, make a pleat in the top and scrunch in the ends. Ensure the parcel is loose to enable the air to circulate. Place the lamb in the oven and bake for 2 hours.
At the end of 2 hours, open out the foil, baste the joint well with the juices and return it to the oven for a further 30 minutes to brown. This should result in meat that is very slightly pink. If you prefer, cook it for more or less time.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining the redcurrant jelly and vinegar in a small saucepan. Whisk over gentle heat until the redcurrent jelly melts into the vinegar. Add the chopped mint and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a jug and set aside until the lamb is ready to be served.
Once the lamb is cooked, remove it from the oven, spoon off the fat and reserve the juices left in the tin to make gravy. Meanwhile, cover the lamb loosely with foil and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
For the gravy, add the white wine to the reserved juices, stir and let it bubble until it has become syrupy. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pour into a warmed gravy boat.
Serve lamb with gravy and offer Redcurrant and Mint sauce separately.
| Good Heavens!
Written by Josie (2632 comments posted) 15th September 2007 | I think this is the very best review I've ever had Don! A cookery recipe. If that doesn't take the biscuit!
Thank you very much indeed. I will certainly try it, and I wish I could invite you all round - but you know how dreadful it would be for me tonight (that's assuming you've read my poem called "My Dream"). Instead, may we all come to your home instead? I will certainly try this recipe and never again will I go to our local pub (now Bistro) and when I see Lamb Henry on the menu, look puzzled. ha ha. With all the readers to this poem, the butcher's will be sold out of lamb next week. (Buy British) Thanks again. |
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