Retro Food For Modern Times - Yesterdays Recipes, Cooked Today

30
Dec
2019

Coronation Chicken “Brexit” Rolls

categories: 1950's recipes, A Moveable Feast, Brioche, Cantina, Chicken, Leftovers, Tasty Reads

For me, closing out a recipe book is almost as satisfying as marking up the pages of a new one! The very last recipe I had to cook out of A Moveable Feast by Katy Holder was Coronation Chicken Baguettes with Apple Slaw. It took ages to make because leftover roast chicken seems to disappear from my fridge before I ever find the time to mix it with mayo, curry powder and chutney to make up some Coronation Chicken.

I did not have baguettes. I had these gorgeous Bretzel Rolls which are, I assume a cross between a Pretzel roll and a Brioche. These made me laugh because I made them on the day after the British election. Whilst I knew that technically they were Bretzel rolls, in my head, they were only ever Brexit rolls!

For those of you not familiar with the bright orange concoction that is Coronation Chicken, it is the best of British combined with a little bit o’ spice from the days of the Raj. Martin Lampen quite cruelly describes it as follows:

“A combination of chicken breasts, curry powder and mayonnaise, Coronation Chicken was created by flower-decorator and author Constance Spry ( the Nigella Lawson of powdered egg, nylon chaffing, sexual repression, back street abortions and locking women in the attic for thyroid problems and ‘hysterics’) in 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II….Cheap chicken in a sickly yellow curry gunk with six sultanas. God save the Queen”

It is actually quite delicious – a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet. And the slaw on the side suggested by Katy Holder is a great accompaniment to cut through some of the richness.

You could also make these with turkey if you still have any leftover from Christmas! The homemade is also a whole lot nicer than the “sickly yellow curry gunk” that comes in those plastic tubs in British supermarkets. So why not make your own. With, a Brexit roll if you can get one!

For a vegetarian version, Yotam Ottolenghi suggests his curried egg and cauliflower salad. It lacks the sweetness of a regular Coronation chicken – which could be resolved, if you wish, by adding a little dollop of mango chutney or those sultanas reviled by Martin Lampen.

So this will be my last post for 2019. Apologies for being absent recently. I had a mad 6 weeks at work before the break, then got sick, and since then have been busy trying to socialise the new addition to the family!

Holly joined us about a week ago. She has had a terrible life, first on a puppy farm who then sold her to medical research. So even though she is nearly 11 years old, she has never been a house dog. She is very timid but is learning very quickly how to dog! We already love her to bits. She will need ongoing training but has already come a very long way in a short time. And every second is worth it as she is an absolute joy!

Anyway, all that has meant that the blog has been on a back burner for a while but for 2020…

Now that I have cooked through A Moveable Feast, another aim for 2020 is to cook through Cantina. I did not entirely enjoy this book when we tackled it in Tasty Reads back in 2015. I found the recipes were too long and complicated and many of the ingredients were hard to come. Alhough the results were generally delish. I still have 30 recipes left to cook from it which equates to around 1.5 per week during 2020.

It might be a long year!

The upside is delicious Mexican food 30 times in the year which can’t be a bad thing!!!

Thanks for reading and being a part of this in 2019. Wishing you all a wonderful 2020!!!!

10
Nov
2019

Broccoli & Stilton Quiche – Rye, England, 2019

categories: Blue Cheese, Broccolini, England, Travel, United Kingdon, World Cooking

I’ve been having a few holiday blues. You know that time where the last one feels like a long time ago and the next one seems like a long way away. So, I thought that it might help my malaise to revisit some of my favourite meals from holidays past.

Rye was our first stop on our holiday this year and I ate an incredibly tasty Broccoli and Stilton quiche from the Rye Deli.

Rye is such a pretty town and full of antique and retro shops. Well worth a visit! If you are heading to the UK and want a great quiche and some cool glassware! I bought some repro Babycham and Martini glasses. And some gorgeous vintage Laura Ashley cups and saucers.

The only things is…a bag full of glassware and a Broccoli and Stilton quiche are not good bag fellows. I spent the day shopping and loading myself up with all the gorgeous glasses. Meanwhile, my lovely quiche was getting squished to bits in my bag. It still tasted delicious but was certainly not in the pristine condition in which I bought it!

I love quiche but tend to veer towards the classic Quiche Lorraine or a Spinach and Feta quiche as my go-to’s. The Broccoli and Stilton Quiche squashed and battered though it was after a few hours of being pummelled in my backpack was a revelation. Such a tasty combination!

And also so pretty! I love how the swirls and branches of the broccolini (which I used instead of broccoli) look like little plants, making this quiche look like some sort of whimsical garden

Because I was trying to keep it British, I used a recipe I found on the Ocado website. However, in all honesty, this recipe was not as good as my original quiche from the Rye Deli. I think it was the onions. I don’t recall any in the OG version but do like the way the rounds of the spring onion play off against the straight stems and the flowery whirls of the broccolini. So, my recommendation would be to halve the amount of spring onions and cook them off a bit first.

Apart from the antiquing and the fab quiche, great fish and chips and a v good bookstore, Rye has some great olde worlde pubs

.A very cool castle, complete with stocks for anyone misbehaving!

And literary cred galore!

My only peeve with Rye was that we arrived just after 9:00 pm. And everywhere except for the fish and chip shop had closed or stopped serving food for the night. This was in the height of holiday season so it was kind of surprising. Having said that, the fish and chips were great so all was not lost.

If you can’t get to Rye, you can always get a taste of it by making a Broccoli and Stilton Quiche! If you can get to Rye, get there before 9:00 pm!

Have a great week!

24
Oct
2019

Mr Kransky’s Panel Van Meatloaf

categories: Meat, Music

So people of the internet, we’re going to start today’s post with a little quiz. I’m going to show you some pictures and you can try to guess what these things have in common. Are you ready? Ok, picture #1 is my version of Matt Preston’s Mr Kransky’s Panel Van Meatloaf. No, I don’t know why it’s called that either.

Next up? Clue 2…

Any takers? Okay, clue 3 coming up!

And finally…

Have you got it? Meatloaf, 1979, Bat, Hell…shall I take the words right out of your mouth?

Today we are celebrating Meatloaf’s album Bat Out of Hell which was released this week 40 years ago! My parents had a copy of this album and in particular my Dad LOVED it and played it often so Bat out of Hell is part of the soundtrack of my childhood. There would have been a time where I could have song every song word for word. Those days are gone but, I will confess that if I’m in the car and radio hopping and I catch a few bars of “Paradise by the dashboard light” I will always listen just because it reminds of the time when “We were barely 17 and we were barely dressed” was the most risque thing I had ever heard! Nowadays I will crank the volume up and join in that operatic crescendo at the end “So now I’m praying for the end of time so I can end my time with you” Which in the words of PJ O’Rourke is definitely a case of age and guile beating youth, innocence and a bad haircut.

I celebrated this 40 year anniversary by making the aforementioned Mr Kransky’s Panel Van Meatloaf. I don;t know who Mr Kransky is or why he decided to make (eat?) his meatloaf in a panel van (aka a shagging wagon) but I can tell you it is delicious. That sweet glaze over the top? Mmmmmmwha!

I used lamb mince in my meatloaf as I don’t eat pork and added a little chilli into the meat mixture too.

This was so good.

The only downside is that the recipe makes a TON of meatloaf, I have been eating it all week! Still, it was worth it as this really is very tasty.

My two favourite ways of eating this are first, very traditionally with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans. The other is in a long roll with some lettuce and pickled vegetables (carrots, daikon and onion), coriander and with a little chilli sauce mixed into the glaze to become a kind of cheat’s bahn mi! Perfect for work lunches!

Have an awesome week everyone! I’ll be eating so much meatloaf and trying not to hum “Two out three ain’t bad” out loud.

PS – let me know at what number clue you guessed the quiz topic!

13
Oct
2019

Use By: Roast Vegetable Bubble and Squeak

categories: England, Great Name, Leftovers, Roast Vegetables, Use By

What can you do with a load of leftover roast veggies? Make one of the best-named dishes ever – Bubble and Squeak! Bubble and Squeak is a British recipe which is traditionally made from the leftovers from the traditional Sunday roast. It is supposedly called Bubble and Squeak due to the noises made during the cooking process. I think this last bit may be apocryphal. My Bubble and Squeak neither bubbled or squeaked. It was totally delicious though!

So what’s it all about Alfie? Given the Britishness of this dish, feel free to use your best Michael Caine cockney voice as you read that too!

Well, get your leftovers – I had some Ottlolenghi Harissa Potatoes and some Brussels Sprouts. You can use pretty much whatever veg you have as long as you have one that can be mashed up. Mashed potato will also work a treat in this.

Mash up your veggies and add a beaten egg. The rest is up to you. Add some of your chopped up leftover roast if you like, throw in some herbs or some cheese. Add some chill or a dollop of mustard. Be as fancy or as simple as you like. I kept these pretty simple, just the veggies and egg because the potatoes already had some harissa and spice seasoning.

When you are ready, pan fry your Bubble and Squeaks to make delicious patties. These are delicious as a side dish, make a great vegetarian burger patty or are good just by themselves.

Topped Bubble and Squeak

My favourite way to eat Bubble and Squeak is to pan-fry the little cakes until they are all crispy and brown on the outside and then top them with all sorts of delish things. These are one of my go-to’s for lunch (or breakfast) when I am working from home.

Breakfast Bubbles

No, I’m not talking about champagne although, having just come back from Europe where a glass of sparkling is de rigueur with your brekkie I’m totally on board with bubbles in the AM. Hmm…if you had some sparkling wine with your breakfast Bubble and Sqeak I guess that’s double bubble!

Bubble and Squeak with an egg makes a for a super breakfast. You could pan fry some bacon as you heat the bubble and squeak if you wanted to have some meat but I like to have mine just with egg. Grilled cheese on top of your B&S is another delicious breakfast option.

Lunchtime Squeaks

Come lunchtime, I like to top my Bubble and Squeak with some chilli labneh and pickled red cabbage or hummus and tomato salsa as per the top picture.

I love the combination of the crispy roast veggies, the creaminess of the yoghurt and the bite of pickle!

Bubble and Squeak can become quite addictive and now I routinely cook extra veg just so I can have them over the next few days!

Here’s a recipe but feel free to experiment as you wish with herbs, condiments etc. My version does not include cheese in the mix but, if you were going to add it, you could play around with different types. Having said that, now I desperately want to have Bubble and Squeak with some blue cheese crumbled through it!!!

Tell me, what is your favourite way of using up roasted veg?

Have a great week!

08
Oct
2019

Old Fashioned Lemonade

categories: Drinks, Lemon, Non - Alcoholic

So, what do you do when life gives you lemons? Make lemonade of course!

And oh boy has life given me lemons! We came home from holidays to find a tree that was so laden with lemons that the branches were nearly lying on the ground!

Poor tree!!!!

Emergency lemon measures were called for! Friends and family were called. However, friends and family were either having their own too many lemon dilemmas or were already hooked up with other peoples too many lemon dilemmas. So, unable to give them away, I started thinking about how to deal with the lemon glut of 2019 on my own!

My old fashioned lemonade is a total classic. It’s the kind of lemonade you can imagine kids selling from a homemade stand, Lucy Van Pelt style back in the day. Or the kind that these kids gave away to marchers during the 1963 March on Washington led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Bless their non-capitalist hearts!

Old Fashioned lemonade is also incredibly easy to make! It has just three ingredients – Lemon juice, sugar and sparkling water. Garnishes of lemon wedges, mint leaves and ice cubes are optional.

But if you also wanted to add a little splash of booze, well, I won’t judge you. 😉

Print

Old Fashioned Lemonade

Print Recipe

A simple and refreshing drink.

Author: Taryn

Ingredients

Scale

375mls of freshly squeezed lemon juice
200grm caster sugar
sparkling water
Ice cubes, lemon wedges and mint leaves to garnis

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Stir the sugar into the lemon juice until it has completelty melted.
When ready to serve, fill a glass to about a third with the lemon and sugar mixture.
Add icecubes.
Top with sparkling water.
Garnish with lemon wedges and mint leaves.

Notes

The lemon and sugar mixture will keep for about a week in a bottle in the fridge.

I’m sure I will have many more lemony dishes in the coming months including a much more fancy lemonade and a super sounding pickle that was in a book I got for my birthday.

Let me know what you would make if you had a million lemons – I need all the inspiration I can get.

Have a great week!