1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (8 page)

Probably no roast in history has tantalized and nourished as many generations as this literary main course. As Bob Cratchit observes in Charles Dickens’s
A Christmas Carol
, “Its tenderness and flavour, size and cheapness, were the themes of universal admiration.” A fitting centerpiece, indeed, of the meal that inspired an epiphany in the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge as he watched the family of his downtrodden clerk enjoying a hard-won Christmas dinner. Cushioned by a fragrant sage and onion stuffing and “eked out” with a chocolate-dark giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, and nutmeg-scented applesauce by the necessarily frugal Mrs. Cratchit, it is
the
symbol of Christmas dinners past.

The meal’s central position in English celebrations stretches back well past the Victorian era: According to legend, Queen Elizabeth I was dining on roasted goose when she learned of the English defeat of the Spanish Armada. The queen then decreed that goose was to be served on this day, which happened to be Michaelmas, a fall holiday, every year thereafter. (Some believe that the American tradition of Thanksgiving turkey evolved from this annual celebratory feast.)

With its golden, crackling-crisp skin and unctuously moist, darkly gamy meat, roast goose will also, we hope, remain a main feature of Christmases yet to come. Although its hegemonic position at the holiday dinner table has in recent decades been usurped by turkey, perhaps due to the high amount of fat on a goose, roast goose rewards diners with a stronger, richer, more interesting flavor.

From the ghost of Christmas dinners past, here’s the recipe as the Crachits might have enjoyed it, recommended by Esther Copley in 1838’s
The Housekeeper’s Guide:

Roast a goose before a brisk fire but at considerable distance at first. It will require basting, for which purpose a little butter should be used at first, but its own fat will soon begin to drip.

Dredge with flour and salt, and see that it is nicely browned all over. A green goose, i.e., one that has not attained its full growth, will take 50 minutes to 1¼ hours; a full-grown goose will require nearly or quite 2 hours.

Further information and recipes:
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens (1843);
British Cookery
edited by Lizzie Boyd (1989);
bbcgoodfood.com
(search classic roast goose with cider gravy).

Thoreau may have been speaking metaphorically, but the instinct to devour the lusciously fatty, seductively satiny marrow at the center of bones is a wise one. Wherever there are long, large leg or shoulder bones of beef, bison, veal, or lamb, the marrow nestled within will be a special prize.

Sometimes used as an ingredient in dishes such as true Milan risotto (see
listing
), German dumplings (see
listing
), English salad dressings, and French, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sauces and dressings, marrow is perhaps most delectable on its own: simply cut out of the bones of roasted or grilled meat and spread on toast. Marrow can also be deliciously extracted at the table, as it is with boiled beef or veal osso buco, the unctuously gelatinous treasure gracefully reached with the aid of the slim, elongated silver marrow spoon.

Like so many of life’s temptations, bone marrow presents a dilemma in being as good for you as it is bad. High in iron, minerals, and valuable, easily absorbed protein, it is also famously high in cholesterol. But waste not, want not, as the saying goes.

Where:
In London
, St. John Bar & Restaurant, tel 44/20-7251-0848,
stjohngroup.uk.com
;
in New York
, Kin Shop, tel 212-675-4295,
kinshopnyc.com
; Prune, tel 212-677-6221,
prunerestaurant.com
;
in Morrison, CO
, The Fort, tel 303-697-4471,
thefort.com
;
in Los Angeles
, Animal, tel 323-782-9225,
animalrestaurant.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Bones
by Jennifer McLagan (2005);
bonappetit.com
(search roast bone marrow);
ruhlman.com
(search how to prepare and serve bone marrow).

Scotch eggs served cold with salad.

Which came first, Scotch eggs or
nargisi kofta
? That is the sort of argument food historians thrive on—while the rest of us indulge in carefree delight. Whether the Scotch egg originated as a spoil of the British empire in India or an invention of the London provisioners Fortnum & Mason, the appetizer-snack is a savory conceit. It begins with a peeled, half-boiled egg; lightly dredged in egg and flour, it is then enclosed in finely ground meat, either pork sausage or a mixture of ham, anchovies, and herbs. Veneered with bread crumbs and then quickly deep-fried in oil, it emerges scrumptiously hot and golden, ready to be dressed with brown gravy or tomato sauce or enjoyed cold as a nibbler with drinks, especially in pubs.

As might be expected, the Indian version, nargisi kofta, has more exotic scents and flavors, with ground lamb or beef spiked with onions, garlic, and a rainbow of spices. The coated eggs are fried with onions in clarified butter or vegetable oil and are cut in half lengthwise before serving to reveal the yolk, looking like the yellow center of a white flower. Madhur Jaffrey, in her 1973 cookbook
An Invitation to Indian Cooking
, speculates that the appearance of the cut-open kofta accounts for the name
nargisi
, meaning narcissus.

Where:
In London
, The Handmade Scotch Egg Company at farmers’ markets,
handmadescotcheggs.co.uk
;
in New York
, The Breslin, tel 212-679-1939,
thebreslin.com
;
in Woodland Hills, CA
, Taste of India, tel 818-999-0600,
tasteofindiala.com
.
Further information and recipes:
An Invitation to Indian Cooking
by Madhur Jaffrey (1973);
The Ploughman’s Lunch and the Miser’s Feast
by Brian Yarvin (2012);
theguardian.com
(search how to cook the perfect scotch egg).
Special event:
The Scotch Egg Challenge, London, September,
theship.co.uk
.

The licorice tang of caraway seeds is an enticing accent in a thin, round butter-and-egg cake traditionally popular throughout the British Isles, albeit with some regional variations. Dating back in British food history at least as far as
the sixteenth century, seed cake was a Victorian favorite—one apparently also enjoyed by the Bellamy family of television’s
Upstairs Downstairs
.

As appealing at teatime as it is with morning coffee, this firm, moist, sunny cake, fragrant with cinnamon and cloves or nutmeg, makes a restorative accompaniment to a glass of port or Madeira, or a decorative dessert when served with soft vanilla ice cream and berries. Scotland’s version includes diced candied fruits and a whiff of brandy or Scotch whisky, while Ireland’s seed cake relies on—no surprise—that country’s own eye-opening whiskey.

Further information and recipes:
Delights and Prejudices
by James Beard (2001);
Mrs. Bridges’ Upstairs, Downstairs Cookery Book
edited by Adrian Bailey (1974);
food.com
(search victorian seed cake);
npr.org
(search caraway seed is a spice worth meeting).

As reassuring as a lullaby, a steaming-hot and savory casserole-like pie of minced meat crowned with lightly glazed mashed potatoes is comfort food of the most elemental order. Forkful after forkful, you break through the thick mashed-potato crust to mine the delicious filling beneath. Soothing flavors come by way of sautéed onions, marjoram, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, and a rich brown gravy boosted by plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

The difference between shepherd’s pie and cottage pie is the meat—lamb or mutton is correct for the former, and beef fills the latter. Unsurprisingly, shepherd’s pie is believed to have been first prepared by shepherds in England and Scotland sometime in the eighteenth century. Cottage pie has a longer history as an economical farm and country dish.

According to the
Oxford Companion to Food
, both pies became widely popular home dishes in the 1870s, with the advent of mincing machines. As British celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall observes, while cottage pie is “by its nature an improvised dish, nevertheless it is one to approach with a certain amount of care and respect—because when you make a good one it’s one of the most delicious things on the planet.”

The pies are often used by home cooks as a clever application for leftover cooked meat, but fresh, raw meat results in a more delicate, fresher flavor and texture. Grated mild Cheddar sprinkled over the potato topping just before baking assures a bright golden finish and adds aromatic zest. A kick often comes by way of the addition of ground nutmeg to the mashed potatoes, an improvement suggested by Alexis Soyer, the French chef who made his reputation in Victorian London. Regardless of these perfecting touches, the hearty, filling, and simple pies are favorites in homes, pubs, and stylish restaurants alike.

Where:
In New York
, Tea & Sympathy, tel 212-989-9735,
teaandsympathynewyork.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Ploughman’s Lunch and the Miser’s Feast
by Brian Yarvin (2012);
The Oxford Companion to Food
by Alan Davidson (1999);
theguardian.com
(search nigel slater classic shepherd’s pie).

At first glance, with its silvery blue riddles and speckles etched into a marigold orange base, Shropshire blue cheese suggests a Cheddar gone rotten. Yet it is the contrast between the needling-sharp, almost metallic sting of those blue spots and the sunshine-butteriness of its orange base that makes this cheese so alluring.

Shropshire Blue makes for a conspicuous and beguiling addition to any cheese counter. Perhaps not so lofty or complex as centuries-old Stilton, this younger blue does share Stilton’s texture—hard and crumbly, yet still creamy. That similarity is no accident, as the two cheeses both originate in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, in England’s western Midlands. Shropshire Blue’s story, however, begins in Inverness, Scotland, with enterprising and food-loving retired Royal Air Force pilot David Hutchinson Smith and his wife, Jill, an agricultural scientist. In the 1970s, they created the unpressed cow’s milk cheese as a Scottish imitation of Stilton. To set it apart, Hutchinson Smith colored it orange with annatto, a natural dye derived from the South American achiote tree; the blue mold was the result of the growth of
Penicillin roqueforti
(the same mold used in both Stilton and France’s Roquefort; see listings
here
and
here
). To market Shropshire, Jill Hutchinson Smith claimed that it had English roots—and eventually the cheese did settle there. When the Hutchinson Smiths’ dairy closed, a spot in the English county of Cheshire took up production of Shropshire Blue, followed not long after by dairies in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, now the cheese’s biggest producers. The Ludlow Food Centre in Shropshire produces it, too.