Something I mention again and again is how annoying I find it when media people make sweeping statements about how ghastly British food was before Elizabeth David and other writers brought their work to the British public… Steam almost comes out of my ears when I read such nonsense! Elizabeth David, a great cook and very influential, came from a rich and privileged background, and ‘A Book of Mediterranean Food’ beautifully illustrated by John Minton certainly must have brightened up post-war lives.
The war had been a time of rationing, of cooks substituting all sorts of unusual home-grown and produced items for food stuffs which could no longer be imported, and had to be creative, innovative and thrifty to try to produce decent meals. When David’s first book was published, sugar, meat and some other foods were still rationed – and were so until 1953, by which time she had also published ‘French Country Cooking’, again illustrated by John Minton. She is a wonderful writer, and I am really not criticing her at all, but it’s her ‘legacy’ which I look sideways at!
British cooks have always been brilliant cooks – I’m sure most people have recipes and memories of grandma’s meals and food, and there are hundreds of wonderful recipe books going back over the centuries. The legacy of the war years, and the rationing years, over fifteen years of not having some of the most basic ingredients, has meant that an almost weird sort of creativity has crept into our kitchens… Food programmes on TV are the most popular, cookery book shelves in shops are groaning with all sorts of publications, magazines in newsagents’, on-line sites, we can’t escape food and recipes!
I love little cookery pamphlets, leaflets, booklets, and some of them have the most intriguing recipes – not complicated, but, to my mind, showing a definite influence from those mid twentieth century years where the cook looked in the cupboard and tried to create something, tasty, interesting and economical from what was there – and to present it in a tempting way.
I have an interesting, and only twenty year old cookery booklet ‘a superb collection of tried and trusted favourites’ published to raise money for church repairs and renovations. I find some of the recipes almost endearing… here are two (and I’m sure the ‘surprise’ in the tomato dish isn’t very surprising!)
Cheeseball
- 2 packs full fat cream cheese (the recipe doesn’t say how large the packs, but I guess the standard 250g, 8 oz)
- 16 oz ‘sharp’ cheddar cheese finely grated
- ¼ each of a small red and green pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp finely chopped onion
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- dash of cayenne pepper
- finely chopped pecans (or almonds or parsley)
- mix all the ingredients except the pecans together so the vegetables are distributed equally
- shape into a ball and roll in the chopped pecans
The quantities amaze me – 2 pounds of cheese? And how far would that amount of lemon juice go through such a quantity? The cheese ball must have ended up as huge – however many people would it serve as a starter? I would be tempted to make very small balls, rolled in the nuts, and serve two or three to each guest – there would be more crunch per mouthful with smaller cheeseballs! The original recipe did not specify the size of soft cheese pack, nor did it mention grating the cheese – very much a ‘home’ recipe! I can imagine my aunty making this for a family party!
Cherry tomato surprise
- There is no given list of ingredients – but they are cherry tomatoes (enough for however many guests you have) cream cheese – enough to fill the scooped out tomato shells, chopped basil, as much as you personally like
- carefully remove the tops of the cherry tomatoes (you’ll be using them later)
- scoop out the centres, leaving as much fruit as possible
- fill with a mixture of cream cheese and basil
- replace the lids
- lay on a bed of lettuce leaves, garnish with sprigs of fresh parsley
(you can substitute cottage cheese for cream cheese, and your favourite fresh herbs or tuna for basil.)
Lois Elsden 