English Recipes & British Food » Others

English and British Recipes & Cuisine

admin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:32:27 +0000

Britain, over all these years, has been able to retain its culture and traditions to the fullest. No wonder traditional dishes have had to compete with many other dishes. Whatever might be the case, British people have managed to maintain their culinary poise as gracefully as ever. British possess elegant cooking traditions incomparable to the rest of the world. The British cuisine has emerged with the cultural influences of many local and hybrid recipes. The place has a dominant Anglo-Indian flavor. For the fact that India has been under the British rule for years, British cuisine also adopted the use of strong spices in their food.

Whether it is the full breakfast or the Sunday roast, Britain has an imperial way of enjoying every meal. British cuisine can be observed as various regional cuisines. As Britain is a collection of different traditions and cultures comprising of England, Scotland and Wales, it truly reflects in their culinary art as well. 19th century brought a great change in British cooking methods. Increased influence of the Mediterranean and central European cuisines took dominant place in the British cuisine. British cuisine is very similar to Irish cuisine.
Let us first focus on British cuisine region-wise. English cuisine has been greatly influenced by North America, India and China. Scottish cuisine, although closely related to English cuisine, has some great typical local flavors. Scottish food and beverages have made their mark world wide. Scotland has great influence of Italian food as well. Welsh Cuisine has an overriding English taste. Fish and chips are the way of life for millions in the United Kingdom. It is the most popular food item in U.K. The fish is deep fried and served with finger chips. These finger chips resemble the French fries. The potatoes are cut in slabs unlike the French fries. In fact, this is an economical meal for all kinds of people. British culinary culture has impacted cooking style in Finland, Norway and other colder regions as well.

The Sunday Roast is one of the primary traditional dishes in Britain. The Sunday roast, as the name suggests, is a holiday meal. It consists of roasted meat, vegetables, gravy and roasted potatoes. The Sunday roast is a popular dish in Ireland as well. Irish cuisine is rich in potatoes and cabbage. Full breakfast is another traditional meal of Britain. Very unlike the name, this meal is served not just for breakfast but any time during the day. It consists of bacon and eggs. These are vegetarian alternatives to this meal. It consists of sausages, black pudding, bakes beans, mushrooms and tomatoes. British people are fond of fried and heavy breakfast. Fast food like pizzas and ham burgers are common.

English Style Raspberry Pudding

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:27:22 +0000

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 cups raspberries
6 slices bread
1 cup whipped cream
1 tablespoon water
Directions
Combine the sugar, water, and raspberries in a saucepan. Over medium heat, cook by stirring the mixture gently as to avoid damaging the raspberries. When the mixture is dissolved, put it aside to let it cool. Line the slices of bread in a 1 quart bowl. Pour the raspberry mixture over the bread, and place remaining of bread as the last layer. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place a weight on top of the bowl before refrigerating.Leave it overnight. To serve, remove plastic wrap, and invert onto a plate with whipped cream on the side.

English Teacakes

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:06:57 +0000

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg white
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons white sugar
Directions
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, cream shortening, butter and sugar .When the butter and sugar has mixed well, Add the egg. Gradually pour milk into the mixture. When mixture is smooth, stir in the dry ingredients combined. Add raisins. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerating it for about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar into a shallow bowl or saucer. Roll dough into balls. Dip the upper side with egg white and cover it with sugar. Grease cookie sheets. Place balls 2 inches apart, sugar side. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, cookies should be golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack.

Spice Cookies

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:16:29 +0000

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup dried currants
1 cup milk, or as needed
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease some cookie sheets. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, eggs, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. In another bowl, sift the flour and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in currants. Add milk gradually until the flour mixture blends with the butter mix. Use a spoon to place the mix onto cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden brown. Cool it on a wire rack. Serve immediately or keep in a cookie jar in a cool dry place.

Sausage Rolls

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:20:35 +0000

Ingredients
16 ounce pork sausage meat
1 package puff pastry sheets
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw the puff pastry sheets and cut the sheets into a dozen squares. Brush each square with mustard. Divide sausage into 12 pieces, Place a sausage on each square. Roll the pastry to seal the sausage and use egg as an adhesive. Place your pastry onto a baking sheet, and glaze the top with the remaining egg. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven. The sausage rolls are ready when they are golden brown.

Mint Sauce

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:42:42 +0000

Ingredients
2 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup wine vinegar
Directions
In a small bowl, stir together mint leaves and vinegar. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before use.

Cornish Splits

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:38:24 +0000

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
Dissolve the yeast in the milk and sugar in a small bowl. Sift the flour and salt together and add the cooled melted butter. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. This will form soft dough. Knead the dough gently. After that, place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).After the dough has risen, knead and shape the dough into 9 balls. Butter and flour a 9 inch square pan. Arrange the dough balls into the pan. Cover the dough for another 15 minutes. Let it rise again. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and puffy. Split the Cornish and serve.

English Flapjack

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:29:30 +0000

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons golden syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup In a saucepan. Make sure the mixture is cooked over a low heat. Stir occasionally. When the mixture is diluted, Stir in oats and raisins. Pour the mix into an 8 inch square baking pan. It should be about 1 inch thick. Bake for in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. The flapjacks should be golden brown. Cut into squares and leave to cool.

Cinnamon Biscuits

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:22:07 +0000

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon into a bowl. Rub in butter into the flour mixture until it becomes breadcrumb like. Add sugar and vanilla extract and also the beaten egg. When the mixture is stiff, knead dough until smooth. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out dough thinly and cut into 24 rounds. Bake for 15 minutes until slightly golden in color. Leave to cool before arranging it in a jar. Store it in a cool dry place.

Butter Tarts

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:27:29 +0000

Ingredients
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch pie
2 eggs
2/3 cup butter
1 cup golden syrup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups raisins
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Before making the filling, line three inch tart tins with pastry and refrigerate the tart tins. For the filling, melt butter in a medium sauce pan, pour in syrup, brown sugar, nutmeg, raisins. Add salt in the mixture. Let mixture cool. Beat the eggs and then add into the butter syrup. Pour the butter syrup mixture into pastry lined tart tins. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not remove the tart immediately after baking. Let it cool down for at least 10 minutes before removal.