Eastern England Recipes
Cabbage With Juniper Berries - Juniper berries are wrinkled and black and, when crushed, release their delightful aroma. The flavour is reminiscent of gin, since juniper is a basic ingredient of the spirit. As a faint background hint, married with garlic, it adds a very special touch to cabbage.
Carrots With Mint And Lemon - Tender young carrots, in the shops during spring and early summer, have a lovely sweet flavour which is brought out to the full by the sugar and lemon juice in this recipe.
Celery Baked In Cream - Celery grows well in the rich black soil of the fen country surrounding Ely in Cambridgeshire, where more than half the British outdoor crop comes from. Both white and green celery are available and either variety can be used for this recipe.
Chilled Asparagus Soup - Thick-stemmed, succulent asparagus from the eastern counties is always a treat, and here the superb flavour shines out. Go for tight heads, fresh-looking stalks and a good colour when shopping. Chilled soup makes an excellent start to a dinner party on a warm evening and this one, with its pretty green colour and luxurious consistency, is a particularly good choice.
Duckling With Green Peas - Roast duck is a deliciously succulent meat, and, in this recipe, comes with its own colourful vegetable accompaniment.
Greengage Tart - Back in the 18th century, Sir William Gage planted some French plum trees at Hengrave Hall, near Bury St Edmunds, without knowing exactly what type of fruit to expect. The plums turned out to be green and became known as the green Gage's plum, which eventually became shortened to greengage. They are sweet, oval and yellowy-green with a good flavour and are in season late August and early September.
Huntingdon Fidget Pie - A lovely old-fashioned recipe - no one knows how it got its peculiar name. Bacon, onions and apples are the traditional filling and the pie was originally made round harvest time to feed the hungry workers. Potatoes can be added to make the dish even more sustaining.
Mussels And Clams With Tomatoes - Mussels and clams are surprisingly good value and their flavour goes well with the acid touch from the tomatoes. Cooked this way the shellfish flavours are fairly similar although textures are different. If you can't get clams, add extra mussels and vice versa.
Norfolk Turkey Breast With Asparagus - This recipe combines two of East Anglia's most celebrated products. Norfolk has long been an important turkey farming centre and the small joints and breasts that are readily available mean that the meat can be served at any time of year. Choose thin sprue asparagus for this dish.
Oyster Loaves - Whitstable in Essex was once renowned for its oysters, although the beds are no longer farmed extensively. This recipe dates back to when oysters were exceedingly cheap. For a budget version, substitute mussels or lightly cooked baby scallops or clams, with a drop offish stock in place of the oyster juices.
Parsnip And Apple Soup - The velvety texture of a creamy soup is always welcoming, and the unmistakable flavour of parsnips, blended with a hint of tart cooking apple, is very warming. Root crops of all types thrive in fertile East Anglian soil, but parsnips don't reach their peak until after one or two hard frosts.
Plaice In Cream - Top-quality fish abounds off the East Angiian coast and plaice of ten features in the catch. It is a flat white fish with a delicate flavour. The skin on one side is brownish, with orange spots, and on the other is pearly white. Plaice is best enjoyed in a simple recipe.
Poacher's Pie - Rabbit recipes feature widely in the traditional cooking of the Eastern Counties because there used to be a big surplus of wild rabbits and hares, which were partially controlled by shooting for game. If wild rabbit is not available, use commercially produced meat, on sale in many supermarkets.
Pot Roast Of Pork And Red Cabbage - Pork shoulder is an economical cut that is good for pot roasting. Cabbage and apple, are traditional accompaniments to pork. Here they are cooked with the meat and take on a delicious flavour from the juices.
Rabbit Casserole With Dumplings - Country families were always glad to get their hands on a fresh rabbit to help stretch the week's food. And rabbit still makes a cheap meal, served in a well-flavoured casserole with plenty of vegetables. Dumplings are an East Anglian favourite - to be called a 'Norfolk dumpling just means you are delightfully plump!
Smoked Trout Pate - The brilliantly simple, idea of making smoked fish into a paste to spread on toast originated in Great Yarmouth, home of the bloater. The method is suitable for many other types of smoked fish and here trout is blended with lemon juice, butter and cream to make a rich pate.
Turkey And Hazelnut Soup - Cooked leftovers work well in this recipe if you're using up the remains of the Christmas bird. Justaddthem to the stock and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until hot. Make the soup at other times of year using a Norfolk turkey breast fillet. Chopped hazelnuts add a hint of nuttiness and a hearty texture.
