T he P l oughm a ns Lu nch and the M isers F e a s t

Authentic Pub Food, Restaurant Fare, and Home Cooking from Small Towns, Big Cities, and Country Villages Across the British Isles

Brian Yarvin

2 The Ploughmans Lunch and the Misers Feast

Salmon Broth
Makes 4 servings
Sometimes I wonder if theres a bit of irony in the way some Scottish soups are called broths. In no way could this be reconstituted from a cube or poured out of a carton. Salmon Broth is one of those Scottish broths thats really a meal in itself. In fine restaurants, its a first course, but in a local pub, it might be served as the main dish.
1 pound salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch squares 2 sprigs fresh thyme 2 sprigs fresh parsley, plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 1 cup peeled pearl onions 1 cup peeled and chopped carrot 1 cup peeled and chopped potato 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons salt

1. Combine the salmon, thyme, parsley, and chives in a large soup pot with 1 quart of water over high heat. Bring to a boil and let boil, uncovered, for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the soup, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the salmon is opaque. 2. Add the onions, carrot, potato, butter, and cream and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes and carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced by about 1/4, about 40 minutes. 3. Taste the soup, and if it needs salt, first add just 1 teaspoon. Then taste again to see if it needs more. Its all too easy to make soups like this one too salty.

4. Remove the sprigs of thyme and parsley. Garnish with the chopped parsley. Serve hot.

The Soup Pot 3

Beef Wellington
Makes 6 servings
Beef Wellington, a roast beef wrapped in a pastry crust and named for the First Duke of Wellington, is an old-school classic. It was the elegant dish that people in Britain knew before fine dining was a buzzword. Today it seems corny, but it became a legend for a reason.
1 beef tenderloin, 2 to 2 1 2 pounds 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 cup chopped onion 3 cups chopped fresh mushrooms 1 (17 1 2 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed 1 large egg, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Sprinkle the beef tenderloin with 1 teaspoon of the salt and teaspoon of the pepper. Pour the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef tenderloin and brown it on all sides. (Make sure it is really browned, and not just gray.) Remove the beef to a platter and set it aside to cool. Reserve the skillet and its drippings and juices. 2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter and onions to the same skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and have absorbed much of what was rendered when the tenderloin was browned, about 15 minutes. 3. Mix in the mushrooms and the remaining salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have com-

pletely cooked and the liquid in the pan has thickened into a saucelike consistency, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, set aside, and let cool. 4. Lay a puff pastry sheet down on a flat surface and cut out a sheet large enough to cover the entire beef tenderloin. Put the beef on the pastry sheet and spread the mushrooms out over the beef. Wrap the pastry around the beef and mushrooms and pinch the dough seam to seal it tightly. Oil a baking sheet well, transfer the wrapped beef to the sheet, and brush the pastry with the beaten egg. 5. Roast the beef for 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 130F and the pastry is browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Slice the beef in 1-inch-thick slices, and serve warm. Or chill in the refrigerator and serve cold.

4 The Ploughmans Lunch and the Misers Feast

The Main Course 5

6 The Ploughmans Lunch and the Misers Feast

Fat R ascals
Makes 6 to 8 large cookies
I heard about Fat Rascals long before I tasted them. In the interim, I tried to imagine what would go into a cookie by that name. My mind raced with images of cream, chocolate, caramel, and other rich dessert ingredients. But when the time came to bake them, eat them, and write a recipe, I learned that fat turned out to mean lard. And lard is what you want for the flakiest texture. You can, however, use shortening if you prefer.
2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 3 4 cup currants 1 4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup lard or shortening 1 2 cup whole milk 1 4 cup sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Mix the flour, baking powder, brown sugar, currants, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl. 2. Combine the flour mixture with the lard or shortening, using your hands to pinch the ingredients together until a dough begins to form. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough has the consistency of modeling clay. 3. Sprinkle your work surface with some additional flour and roll the dough out into a sheet 12 inch thick. (Yes, these are fat cookies.) Then use a 2- or 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out disks. 4. Grease a baking sheet with butter, lard, or shortening. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the sheet and bake them until they are golden-brown, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle them with the sugar and return them to the oven for 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven, let cool, and serve.

The Sweet Side 7

T he P l ough m a ns L u nch and the M ise rs F e a s t

Within Britain, pub and country-inn chefs, food writers, and everyday home cooks are taking a renewed interest in their own traditional cuisine, approaching it now more with pride than with prejudice. Here the American food and travel writer and photographer Brian Yarvin brings these newly rediscovered pleasures to the attention of home cooks on this side of the Atlantic.
TABLe OF COnTenTS A Full Breakfast Sandwiches, Salads, and Small Plates The Soup Pot The Main Course The Curry Shop On the Side Savory Pies and Baked Goods The Sweet Side The Ploughmans Cupboard

978-1-55832-413-8 $26.95 Color photographs throughout FEBRUARY Cookbook 320 pages CL 9 x 8

Author website: www.brianyarvin.com Friend Brian Yarvin on Facebook at: www.harvardcommonpress.com/byarvin Follow Brian Yarvins photo collection at byarvin.zenfolio.com PUBLiCitY ContACt: nancy Grant Mahoney (617) 423-5803 or (888) 657-3755 the Harvard Common Press www.harvardcommonpress.com

Brian Yarvin, a native new Yorker, has been a photographer for almost 35 years. He teaches fo o d a n d c o m m e r c i a l p h o t o g r a p hy a t t h e Washington School of Photography in Bethesda, Maryland, and is also a food writer and restaurant reviewer. He lives with his family in edison, new Jersey.

UNCORRECTED BLAD NOT FOR RESALE