Rose Prince - The New English Table - 200 Recipes from the Queen of Thrifty, Inventive Cooking

Currently, the main challenges and threats we face are food related. ‘Peak oil’ – the point after which demand for fossil fuels outstrips supply – has pushed food prices up, and inflation on some foods is now as high as 20 per cent. Rising levels of obesity are costing the National Health Service an estimated £1 billion per year; in children the obesity epidemic is especially tragic and poignant. But in our own warm kitchens, we can go some way to addressing issues that the authorities seem uninspired, or politically afraid, to deal with.

The problem of methane-emitting food waste and higher prices can be tackled by turning, say, some surplus cooked beef into a rich braise, enlivened with puréed tomatoes, red wine, garlic and thin shreds of wild fungi, to eat with buttered pasta ribbons.

One answer to the peak oil question lies in an earthily delicious dish of home-grown purple sprouting broccoli and tender green lentils, both of which are crops with a low environmental impact.

Given the known benefits of eating a more diverse menu than red meat, white bread and King Edwards potatoes, poor diet can be addressed by exploring a wider variety of foods, trying new types of grain, sprouted seeds and leafy green vegetables. We can do good by choosing from battalions of pretty squashes, rare potato and apple breeds, less familiar seafood and game birds – even edible flowers. If any of the above were medicine, it would taste of honey and lemon.

But what to put on the table … what is English, or British? A peculiar aspect of our progress over centuries, during which artists have created works of genius and scientists have developed life-saving cures, is that the English larder has become culturally primitive. Once we were imaginative and knowledgeable about the art of food, and more democratic in the share of it. Now, the majority paint by numbers in crude colours.

So this is a book of ingredients: how and when to buy them, all the many things that can be made with them and, in many cases, how to use up what is left. There is an economic divide between the foods listed. Some are obvious candidates for an occasional feast, others plainly everyday items. Some fall between the two – they can be cheaper to buy in a glut moment, or depending on where you live. Many are recognisably home grown – beef, Cheddar, wheat and watercress, for example. Some are produced here but are underexploited – sardines, sweetbreads, barley and rabbit. Others could be grown here commercially but are not – buckwheat, lentils, quince and chestnuts. Others cannot be produced here but are non-controversial imports embedded in our history – olive oil, tea, lemons and rice. All these foods belong here, or were English once. Have confidence. There’s no need always to look to the Mediterranean for something good.

With your new knowledge and ideas, choose when is right to eat what. Try new things. Add herbs, leaves, flowers and spices to the kaleidoscope and suddenly the English table has food on its plates that is interesting, pretty, honest and so good to eat. Choosing to cook and not waste a diverse range of foods, in a rhythm that is economical and healthy in every sense, will become the essence of a New English Table.

List of All Recipes

Apples

Apple Soup

Apple, Red Cabbage and Watercress Salad

Hot Apple Juice

Russet Jelly Ice

Asparagus

Asparagus with Pea Shoots and Mint

Boiled or Steamed Asparagus

Bacon

Bacon and Shellfish

Bacon and Potatoes

Bacon Gravy for Sausages

Light Bacon Stew

Bacon and Apples

Bacon and Potato Salad with Green Celery Leaf and Cider Vinegar

Barley

Barley Cooked as for Risotto

Pot Barley and Lamb Broth

Pearl Barley with Turmeric, Lemon and Black Cardamom

Barley Water (the Queen’s Recipe)

Spiced Barley with Leeks, Root Vegetables, Oregano, Nutmeg, Allspice and Butter

Barley in Breadcrumbs

Beans

Bean Sprout and Herb Soup

Baked Beans with Bacon, Molasses and Tomato

Pinto Beans and Venison

White Bean Broth with Buttered Tomato and Lettuce

Bean and Herb Salads

Quick Braised Butterbeans

Beef

Grilled Goose Skirt with Salad Leaves and Berkswell Cheese

Top of the Rump with Lemon and Parsley Butter

Flank with Tarragon Butter Sauce

Braised Shin of Beef with Ale

Cold Salt Beef and Green Sauce

Roast Rare Aged Beef Sirloin with a Mustard and Watercress Sauce

Raw Beef with Horseradish, Sorrel and Rye Bread

Beef with Horseradish Sauce on Crisp Bread

Beef with Pumpkin Seeds and Carrot

Sauce for Pasta

Braised Beef and Fungi

Beef Stock

Dripping

Blackcurrants

Blackcurrant Tarts

Venison Marinated in Blackcurrants

Redcurrant Cake

Broccoli

Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Little Brown Lentils

Creamed Broccoli Soup

Romanesco Salad

Buckwheat

Kasha Salad

Buckwheat Pancakes

Herrings in Buckwheat Groats

Buffalo Milk

Buffalo Milk Yoghurt with Lavender Honey and Pear Salad

Cauliflower

Cauliflower with Lancashire Cheese

Crisped Cauliflower with Breadcrumbs and Garlic

Cauliflower Soup

Glorious Rehash – a New Generation of Leftovers

Celery

Green Celery, Crayfish and Potato Salad

Celery Soup

Celery Stock

Cheese

Melted Cheese and Ale, to Eat with Bread

Pasta with Ricotta and Woody Herbs

Beetroot, Red Cabbage and Goafs Cheese Salad

Stinking Bishop Tart

Fried Fresh Goat’s Cheese with Apples, Victoria Plums and Orange Blossom Honey

Flowerpot Cheesecake Decorated with Flowers

Chestnuts

Hot Chestnut and Honey Soup

Potted Duck with Chestnuts

Chicken

Whole Poached Chicken, Leek and Bean Broth with Real Ale and Garlic Sauce

Dry-roast Chicken

Chicken Stock

Chicken Noodle Broth

Hot Chicken, Herb and Cream Soup

Cold Chicken, Mustard, Dill and Cucumber

Coconut Chicken

Chicken Curry with Fresh Tomato and Ginger

Chickpeas

Squash and Chickpea Soup with Single Gloucester Cheese

Sprouted Chickpea Hummus

Blue Cheese and Gram Flour Biscuits

Chicory

Creamed Chicory Soup with Pink Pepper, Parsley Oil and Soft-boiled Egg

Chicory and Goat’s Cheese Puff Pastry Pie

Braised Chicory with Butter and Lemon Juice

Cobnuts

Squirrel with Cobnuts and Walnuts

Pheasant Halves Stuffed with Cobnuts, Bread and Butter

Cobnut and Watercress Salad with Potato Bread

Cobnut Ice

Cocoa

Flourless Cocoa Cake

Courgettes

Courgettes with Garlic Butter

Courgette Shavings with Olive Oil, Lemon, Pistachio, Basil and Chives

Crab

Potted Crab

Crab Broth

Crab with Spelt

Crab and Mustard Omelette

Crayfish

Boiled Crayfish with Watercress and Egg Sauce

Crayfish-scented Broth with Trout and Rice

Cucumber

Hot Spiced Cucumber

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Mint, Yoghurt and Green Chilli

Proper Cucumber Sandwiches

Damsons

Damsons, Boiled Gingerbread and Lemon Cream

Damson Gin

Eggs

Eggs in Jelly with Tarragon

Poached Eggs with Rainbow Chard and Pink Pepper

Soft-boiled Eggs, Raw Vegetable Crudités, Mayonnaises (Basil, Nasturtium and Chilli)

Elderflower

Elderflower Fritters

Elderflower and Ginger Syllabub

Elderflower Syrup

Elderflower and Mead Marinade for Poultry

Faggots

Faggots and Watercress

Fried Faggots with Caper and Parsley Sauce

Figs

Breakfast Figs

Spiced Neck of Lamb with Figs

Baked Figs with Pear Purée

Goose

Roast Goose with Apples and Blackberry Jelly

Cold Goose and Wild Rice