Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #519309 in Books
• Published on: 1992-08-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Lindsey Bareham, Evening Standard
"...now is the time to invest in our edible heritage made digestible by one of the finest writers we have ever produced."

Synopsis
Looking at a range of English cookery, this book sets out an array of English dishes including soups, fish dishes, roasts and pies. There are also sections on cheese and egg dishes, vegetables and preserves as well as puddings, cakes, breads and buns. The recipes include hot cross buns, whim-wham, sea-kale, cockie-leekie, Yorkshire pudding and almond soup. Introductions and background information on each recipe is included as well as step-by-step instructions.

Customer Reviews

Simply more than a recipe book - Jane Grigson`s `English Food`!
`In this classic work, Jane Grigson reveals the richness and surprising diversity of England's culinary heritage.
From modest dishes such as `Gloucestershire Cheese and Ale`, and `Toad-in-the-Hole', to grander ones using roast game, local fish and fresh vegetables, as well as traditional puddings, teatime cakes and preserves, this joyful celebration of our national cuisine is a pleasure to cook from and a delight to read. '


Penguin Cookery Library format - paperback with 384 pages, split over chapters:-

Soups
Cheese and egg dishes
Vegetables
Meat, poultry and game
Puddings
Teatime: - bread, cake, griddle cakes and pancakes, biscuits
Stuffings, sauces and preserves

sandwiched between a foreword, from daughter Sophie plus an introduction, and a concise index.
Interspersed with just the odd black and white line drawing this chunky paperback is serious reading material, with acknowledgements and endearing references to other great cooks and cookery writers including Elizabeth David and the reproduction of three of her famous recipes:-


Elizabeth David's Potted Crab
Elizabeth David's Prawn Paste
Elizabeth David's Everlasting Syllabub

Each chapter opens with general information and observations, as does each recipe, e.g.

Soused Herrings:-
Herring cooked this way makes a good cold dish, so long as you don't overdo the vinegar. I recommend you follow the Scandinavian practice of serving them with a bowl of cream, beaten with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and flavoured with chives.

Other delicious recipes include:-

Roast Rack of Lamb with Laverbread
Isle of Man Herring Pie
Venison Pasty
Chilled Mange Tout Creams
Chicken with Leek Pie from Wales
Bloater and Potato Salad
Jellied Stock
Pork Pie Filling
English Game Pie
Raspberry Pie
Chocolate Pie
Mussel and Leek Roly Poly
Queen of Puddings
Salmon in Pastry with a Herb Sauce
Sedgemoor Eel Stew
Mushrooms in Snuffboxes
Anchovy Matchsticks
Liver and Bacon Salad
Little Cheese Soufflé
Rice Bread
Cinnamon Toast
Oyster Sauce
Ginger Cake

Each recipe is clearly laid out with number of servings, ingredients lists and method.

Oh hooray for Jane Grigson
It is so good that Jane Grigson remains in print. Supremely unfussy, fabulously unpretentious, her books are invaluable. last night I decided to bone and stuff a chicken for roasting and sifted through piles of more contemporary cookbooks looking for an interesting stuffing recipe. They were few and far between - then I remembered the Sainted Jane and hooray a whole chapter of stuffing recipes. I plumped for a hazelnut stuffing and it was fabulous. Now she's been dusted off, I'm going to be using her a lot more again - perfect for the winter months!

Excellent book, with an honest, back to basics outlook.
An excellent book, full of the author's own opinion regarding food preparation and ingredient suggestions. Having tried several of the recipees, they all have had excellent results; however, there is plenty of value added through the author's own "editorial" sections, which are available at the introduction of new chapters and often as a prelude to the recipees themselves.

A must for any kitchen/cooking lover.