The British Isles have a wealth of authentic recipes from the cuisines of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Great recipes using local produce and traditional techniques to produce delicious, hearty dishes. Here are a few of my favourite British recipes.
Potted Trout Potting is an old English technique for preserving meat or seafood by storing it under a layer of fat, similar to French confit or rillettes. The food was traditionally cooked thoroughly to eliminate excess moisture then packed into a ceramic pot. Meats with a lot of natural fat could be sealed under a […]
Pedro Ximénez Sherry & Date Puddings These simple Sherry and date puddings are inspired by part of a far more elaborate recipe by Cheong Liew in his book My Food. He adds ginger for an extra dimension, so stir 2 teaspoons of ginger juice into the batter if you like ginger’s pepperiness (made by squeezing […]
Date Scones This recipe is inspired by Matt Moran’s date scone recipe in Australian Food, which is in turn inspired by the scones his Nan, Valda made. The dates and mixed spice make them so tasty I don’t think they need jam or cream, just lashings of Pepe Saya butter – but feel free to […]
Herb Scones I love herb scones alongside a bowl of soup, but they also make a great savoury addition to afternoon tea. Use just one herb or a mixture of any fresh herbs you like: parsley, chervil, dill, chives, tarragon or thyme – even a little very finely chopped rosemary – in this versatile, tasty […]
Cheese Scones Given scones British heritage, I like to use a good crumbly cheddar in my cheese scones; most of it mixed into the dough and a little saved to sprinkle on top. Depending on your oven, the topping may brown unevenly, so check after 10 minutes and if necessary turn the tray around to […]
Pumpkin Scones Pumpkin scones are perhaps the most Aussie scone of all, made famous by Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen, wife of a Queensland Premier. Use leftover roast pumpkin if you have some (you’ll need about 1 cup mashed), in which case you may need to add a splash more milk. These pretty orange scones are delicious […]
Duck fat potatoes are quite a delicacy in France – so when I had some rendered duck fat left over from frying duck breasts for duck a l’orange, I thought I’d make some. The verdict: easy and utterly delicious! The trick is to fry them for about 10 minutes without disturbing them so they crisp […]
I started thinking about classic Aussie melting moments … but didn’t have any cornflour so substituted rice flour, which gave my cookies more of a shortbread texture. I still made the lemon buttercream filling, but instead of using it to sandwich 2 cookies together, I spread it (rather generously) on top of each one. You […]
Cranachan Cranachan, a combination of oats, raspberries, whisky and honey (ideally heather honey, which is available online from Gourmet Life), is the most typical Scottish dessert. A bit like a Scottish Eton mess, these days it’s usually made with whipped cream, though traditionally Scotland’s cottage cheese, crowdie, was used, giving it a more lactic tang. […]
I have more of a savoury than a sweet palate, so I don’t make a lot of desserts – when I do, they have to be super quick and easy like this delicious apple crumble. If you have a sweeter palate you might like to toss some castor sugar through the apples to balance the […]
