The definitive British menu?

Is carrot and coriander considered a traditional British dish? If so it's a fairly recent one. If going for a soup I would say something like broth, oxtail or pea and ham. Everything else suggested seems fine (well except for the barftastic battered pork pie :p). Others for consideration:

Cullen skink
Glazed gammon with mustard
Summer fruit pudding
Cranachan
 
satchef1 said:
Seared Scallops and Black Pudding with Pea Puree
Roasted Haunch of Venison with sauteed Wild Nettles and Mushrooms
Raspberry Crumble (Birds/Ambrosia custard for authenticity and anti-Creme Anglaise-ness)

That would be my shot. It's all in-season at the moment and definitely British food that defies the boring image.
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Thank god someone has some sense. Everything else has been nothing but stereotypes!

British cuisine has vastly improved since the 1950s, despite the fact that the stereotypical "boiled two veg and meat" image has persisted to this day.

This whole island is blessed with fantastic seafood, some of the best wild game, wonderfully subtle herbs and vegetables, and some of the best damned ales and whiskies on Earth. Surely, this is enough to create a stupendous five-course meal.

Bar said:
Best of British Menu:

Starter: Leek and Stilton Soup
Main: Roast Pork (with crackling) sage and onion stuffing, yorkshire puddings, steamed cabbage, roast potatoes and root veg (parships / carrots), gravy (made from meat juices, plain flour and stock)
Dessert: Cranachan

Covers Scotland, England and Wales.
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Not bad at all. I would replace the standard roast potatoes with some sweet potatoes where possible, and throw in a cheese plate after dinner but before dessert. Served with some fine Scottish malts, of course.

People, please - have some imagination. Where's the pheasant? Where's the venison? Where are the port reductions, and wonderful home made gravies of old? Give me mutton, cold beer, hearty vegetables and perfectly roasted meat over some kind of ludicrous fire.

Now THAT'S bloody British!
 
It's an interesting question, we had some good innate British food until WW2 and the aftermath where we destroyed our history of cooking and product. It's only recently that we are starting to rediscover our culinary history, but there must be something there in a country that invented Worcester Sauce.

If you look over some of the pre war cook books, there's some fantastic technique and taste.

Edit: We have some of the best produce in this country, world beating Cheese, the best meat in Europe and some fantastically tasty veg. Just need to remember.
 
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mikester said:
Thank god someone has some sense. Everything else has been nothing but stereotypes!

British cuisine has vastly improved since the 1950s, despite the fact that the stereotypical "boiled two veg and meat" image has persisted to this day.

This whole island is blessed with fantastic seafood, some of the best wild game, wonderfully subtle herbs and vegetables, and some of the best damned ales and whiskies on Earth. Surely, this is enough to create a stupendous five-course meal.



Not bad at all. I would replace the standard roast potatoes with some sweet potatoes where possible, and throw in a cheese plate after dinner but before dessert. Served with some fine Scottish malts, of course.

People, please - have some imagination. Where's the pheasant? Where's the venison? Where are the port reductions, and wonderful home made gravies of old? Give me mutton, cold beer, hearty vegetables and perfectly roasted meat over some kind of ludicrous fire.

Now THAT'S bloody British!
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Agree completely I was tempted to go with some pigeon / game terrine as starter served with oatcakes and beetroot pickle.

You can throw in some classic fish dishes as well, but I am not a huge fan so its not my thing.

Some cheaper classics would be liver and onions, tripe, pig trotters all sorts of lovely things.
 
mikester said:
Thank god someone has some sense. Everything else has been nothing but stereotypes!

British cuisine has vastly improved since the 1950s, despite the fact that the stereotypical "boiled two veg and meat" image has persisted to this day.

This whole island is blessed with fantastic seafood, some of the best wild game, wonderfully subtle herbs and vegetables, and some of the best damned ales and whiskies on Earth. Surely, this is enough to create a stupendous five-course meal.



Not bad at all. I would replace the standard roast potatoes with some sweet potatoes where possible, and throw in a cheese plate after dinner but before dessert. Served with some fine Scottish malts, of course.

People, please - have some imagination. Where's the pheasant? Where's the venison? Where are the port reductions, and wonderful home made gravies of old? Give me mutton, cold beer, hearty vegetables and perfectly roasted meat over some kind of ludicrous fire.

Now THAT'S bloody British!
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You said it better than I could. We make the best Cheese in the world by far, our meat is the best and we have lovely fresh vegetables.
 
One thing that might make a difference..... are you doing this when you are back in the UK or there in Prague? It's all very well us suggesting simple good dishes made with the best of British ingredients (like a lovely cropwell bishop stilton) but if you are making it over there then we will need to think of things that can be made anywhere.
 
Excellent! Now we're getting more interesting things!
Exactly what I'm trying to go for mikester :)

Muban said:
One thing that might make a difference..... are you doing this when you are back in the UK or there in Prague? It's all very well us suggesting simple good dishes made with the best of British ingredients (like a lovely cropwell bishop stilton) but if you are making it over there then we will need to think of things that can be made anywhere.
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I'm doing it over here in Prague, there's a British deli that I can go to for some things http://www.robertson.cz/

I also know an organic farmer who if he doesn't rear or grow it himself can get hold of it (game etc.) as he's a member of a hunting club.

So most universal things I can get hold of, seafood could be a little problem but there are suppliers albeit a bit pricy in Prague, though as you can imagine in a landlocked country seafood isn't that popular, it's all mainly freshwater.

edit: after seeing the ideas I'm leaning towards a light starter of scallops (yet to pin down an exact recipe) and then beef wellington with roast potatoes, veg and a port reduction. Dessert wise I'm thinking something light again as a roast with meat and potatoes is always filling, I've still not made a choice on that though.
 
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I'm sorry, but you can't cook a starter of scallops for someone and tell them it's a typical British dish whilst keeping a straight face. Even if they come from British waters, which you'd be incredibly lucky to get hold of in Prague, it's stretching the credibility of the dish a bit far.

How about potted shrimps or chicken livers on toast? A gourmet scotch egg with a seasonal salad? Pork terrine with piccalilli? Baked potato and leek soup? Ham and egg salad? Sorrel and spinach soup? And so on and so forth.

Beef Wellington I'd agree with, even though it's not really a British dish. And yes, you can argue the toss on that one and nobody ever really wins, but it's probably acceptable as it's seen as a British dish, despite its varied origins.

Lay off the roast potatoes though, eh? Seasonal veg and a nice, flavoursome sauce is all you need to go with that dish.
 
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