![Strawberry trifle: whipped cream with berries. - (cc) [puamelia] /Yumi Kimura via Flickr.com](http://images.suite101.com/1529439_com_3595718992.jpg)
It’s become a timeworn cliché to criticize British cooking for being typified by overcooked meats and soggy, flavorless vegetables. In fact, any resident of or visitor to England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, or Ireland will encounter outstanding cuisine today, including exquisitely cooked versions of time-honored dishes.
In fact, before the 16th century, the French looked across the channel to England for cooking worthy of admiration. A land of rich natural abundance, the British Isles abound with glorious produce, seafood, poultry, and meats. Today, in humble cafes and upscale restaurants alike, many cooks there reach back to the past for inspiration.
Seek out the following dishes to sample the best British cooking:
- Angels on Horseback. An appetizer or post-prandial “savory” dish of broiled or grilled bacon-wrapped oysters.
- Black Bun. A yeast-leavened egg bread dough darkened with sweet spices, candied fruit, and chopped nuts, wrapped in a thin layer of plain dough and then baked, cut into wedges, and served with afternoon tea.
- Black Pudding. Northern English sausage made with pig’s blood, oatmeal, pork fat, onions, and herbs, first boiled whole and then sliced and pan-fried.
- Bubble and Squeak. Leftover chopped potatoes and cabbage or Brussels sprouts, sautéed in beef suet or bacon drippings. (The name describes the sounds emanating from the pan during cooking.)
- Champ. Irish potatoes mashed with scallions, milk, and a pool of melted butter.
- Clotted Cream. A specialty of Cornwall and Devon, this unpasteurized cream has been scalded and then chilled, giving it a thick texture and sweet flavor that shines when spread on teatime baked goods.
- Cock-a-Leekie. Scottish chicken soup with leeks, sometimes elaborated with oatmeal or prunes.
- Colcannon. Champ (see above) to which cabbage has been added.
- Cornish Pasty. A pastry turnover filled with meat and potatoes, this originated as an economical, filling, convenient lunch for coalminers in Cornwall.
- Crumpet. Soda-leavened tea bread cooked on a griddle, resulting in a hole-riddled texture that soaks up butter or jam.
- Dublin Coddle. A simple stew of sausage, bacon, and onions.
- Finnan Haddie. Smoked haddock, usually served at breakfast.
- Fool. Pureed cooked fruit blended with whipped cream or custard, then chilled.
- Haggis. Scottish specialty of lamb’s liver and other variety meats, minced and mixed with suet, oatmeal, onion, and spices, then stuffed into a sheep’s stomach and simmered for several hours.
- Jugged. Refers to game, usually hare, or other meat marinated with vinegar or red wine in an earthenware crock (the jug) and then slowly braised.
- Kedgeree. Named after and adapted from the Indian lentil-and-rice khichari, this breakfast or brunch dish combines flaked smoked haddock, rice, curry spices, and hardboiled egg.
- Kipper. A brined and smoked herring, served for breakfast.
- Mulligatawny Soup. A spicy blend of chicken or meat broth, onions, mild spices, and yogurt, coconut milk, or cream, adapted from colonial Indian influences, with a name derived from the Tamil milakutanni, “pepper water.”
- Scone. A soda-leavened teacake shaped into discs or wedges
- Scotch Egg. Hardboiled egg enclosed in fresh sausage meat and breadcrumbs, then deep-fried. Usually served cold as a pub lunchtime offering.
- Toad-in-the-Hole. Sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding batter.
- Trifle. Dessert composed of layers of Sherry-soaked sponge cake, jam, fruit, custard, and whipped cream.
- Yorkshire Pudding. A batter of flour, eggs, and milk, cooked in beef dripping until puffy and golden brown, served as an accompaniment with roast beef.
- Welsh Rabbit. Shredded Cheddar cheese mixed with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, melted over toast.
Mouth watering yet? Get ready for some great British eating!
Norman Kolpas - I've been writing about lifestyle topics–including food, travel, art, design, books, theater, and movies–since the ...
