roasts, custard and trifles
Having just had a very merry christmas – my first Christmas in Britain – and a string of dining out, I thought I’d dispell a common myth: the British can’t cook.
Actually, the British CAN cook. And they can cook very, very well.
They just don’t have a big repetoire, there is a different sense of ‘done’ than picky Californian cusine-artists like myself consider proper and they rarely make use of all the ingredients at their disposal.
The great british dish is the Roast. This can be with veal, pork, beef, chicken, nut-roast, etc; sliced meat, with vegetables (brussel sprouts, carrots, cabbage) and crispy potatoes and gravy. Followed by a ‘pudding’ (desert); my favorite are fruit puddings (bread soaked in fruit and filled with fresh fruit) and Sticky Toffee Pudding that melts in your mouth, topped (always) with custard (or creme – like unwhipped-whipping cream). When done well, english standards such as shepards pie, fish and chips, jacket potato (baked potato filled with anything from beans and cheese to tuna fish salad), layered paninis, trifles (a layered desert with cream, fruit and bread), tea’n'scones and chutneys, jams, and jellies; they do very well. Their chutneys, in particular, are known and respected even on the continent. They have good butter, milk, and basic bread. Sometimes you can find good local cheese; occaisionally there is a nice local chocolate place.
Then there are the less appealing dishes – over-boiled vegetables, over-done pasta, a lack of spice (even in indian food), and, outside of the ‘good’, a lack of interesting main meals. Baguettes that would make the French cry, and not a bagel in site. Very few salads and lots of parsnips (of course, we are in winter). Plenty of mayonaise. At a potluck I went to recently, on top of the other dishes there was a heap of backed potatoes, and these were passed around near the end of the meal – and many people took one (though I was full). It reminded me of those cultures where you can’t have a meal without a certain carbohydrate!
So I cook for myself, and miss the variety of food and flavors found in San Francisco.
