I’ve mentioned before that it used to be that rather than cheese and biscuits at an end of the meal, a savoury would be served. Some of the recipes I’ve seen seem quite substantial – so after a meal of starter, main with vegetables, dessert with custard or cream, to have something else cooked would probably not appeal to us.
In my old Modern Practical Cookery book, there are 220 different recipes for savouries!, anchovies, asparagus, bacon, cheese, bloaters, cauliflower, celery, chicken, corn, cucumber. curry, eggs, fish of all sorts, pasta of all sorts, ham, rice and beans and lentil dishes, sardines and twenty different tomato dishes! I’m not sure many people would like tongue sauté or fried suet pudding, spinach savoury or seakale flan, egg jellies or sardine biscuits… but those sort of dishes must have been popular. Toasted pears? Stuffed onions? Parsnip pie? I would very much enjoy stuffed aubergine or fluffy cheese balls, but not after a full dinner!
I’ve been sharing the suggested menu for July, and after salmon mayonnaise, roast lamb with buttered carrots and peas and new potatoes, followed by gooseberry pie and cream, on offer is tomato toast.
Just in case it appeals to you, here is the recipe:
Tomato toast
- 6 slices of tomato (I guess they mean a beef tomato)
- 2 oz grated cheese
- 6 circles of bread the same size as the tomato
- 2 oz streaky bacon, rind removed, diced
- butter
- salt and pepper
- chopped parsley
- put tomato slices in the oven to heat through
- toast the bread on one side only and butter the untoasted side
- fry bacon dice until crisp
- place a slice of tomato on each of the buttered toast rounds
- season with salt and pepper and arrange crispy bacon dice
- sprinkle cheese over the top and place under the grill to brown slightly
- garnish with parsley
It’s a little like an English form of bruschetta, isn’t it and could be quite tasty, but not to follow a meal including fish, a roast and a pie!
Lois Elsden 