Introduction: The ploughman’s lunch, a cold plate of cheese, bread, pickle, ham and salad, draws on the tradition of farm labourers carrying simple cold rations to eat in the fields, and was popularised as a pub menu staple in England from the mid-20th century onward. Cultural Background: The ploughman’s lunch, a cold plate of cheese, […]
Introduction: Originating among Cornish tin miners, who needed a hearty, self-contained meal that could be carried underground and eaten by hand, the Cornish pasty is a pastry case filled with seasoned beef, potato, swede and onion, and today holds Protected Geographical Indication status. Cultural Background: Originating among Cornish tin miners, who needed a hearty, self-contained […]
Introduction: A thick, savoury brown soup of beef, root vegetables and sherry, Brown Windsor soup became strongly associated with English institutional and country-house dining of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often (somewhat unfairly) mocked as bland but fondly remembered as a nostalgic classic. Cultural Background: A thick, savoury brown soup of beef, root […]
Introduction: A thick, warming soup made from dried peas and the bone and trimmings left from a cooked ham, pea and ham soup has long been an economical English way of using every part of a joint, particularly popular in the colder months following Christmas ham dinners. Cultural Background: A thick, warming soup made from […]
Introduction: The centrepiece of the traditional English Sunday roast, slow-roasted beef served with rich gravy has been associated with English national identity for centuries, so much so that the English were historically nicknamed ‘roast beefs’ by other Europeans. Cultural Background: The centrepiece of the traditional English Sunday roast, slow-roasted beef served with rich gravy has […]
Introduction: A traditional East End London delicacy, jellied eels are freshwater eels cooked in a spiced stock that sets into a savoury jelly once cooled, historically sold from street stalls and pie and mash shops in working-class London neighbourhoods since the 18th century. Cultural Background: A traditional East End London delicacy, jellied eels are freshwater […]
Introduction: A one-pot fish and rice dish showing the direct hand of Spanish colonial cooking on Equatoguinean tables. Cultural Background: A one-pot fish and rice dish showing the direct hand of Spanish colonial cooking on Equatoguinean tables. Coastal families in Malabo and Bata make it with whatever fresh catch is available that morning, simmered with […]
Introduction: A rice and black-eyed pea dish associated with Bioko’s small Krio community, descendants of 19th-century Sierra Leonean and Liberian settlers who brought West African rice-and-bean traditions with them to Fernando Po (as Bioko was then known). Cultural Background: A rice and black-eyed pea dish associated with Bioko’s small Krio community, descendants of 19th-century Sierra […]
Introduction: Small crab-filled pastries reflecting Spain’s lasting culinary footprint, adapted with Gulf of Guinea crab instead of the tuna or chorizo typical of Iberian empanadillas. Cultural Background: Small crab-filled pastries reflecting Spain’s lasting culinary footprint, adapted with Gulf of Guinea crab instead of the tuna or chorizo typical of Iberian empanadillas. Popular as a starter […]
Introduction: A simple avocado starter salad reflecting both the abundance of avocado trees across Rio Muni and Bioko and the Spanish habit of a light ensalada before the main course. Cultural Background: A simple avocado starter salad reflecting both the abundance of avocado trees across Rio Muni and Bioko and the Spanish habit of a […]