England’s Favorite Northern Dishes
The dishes of Northern England are very healthy and include lots of fresh herbs and vegetables and locally grown meats and poultry.
Northern England is home to the famous Steak and Kidney Pie. This is a classic winter dish in which steak, kindles and mushrooms are cooked in a broth of ale and pastry inside puff pastry. It is also home to Shepherd’s Pie which is beef or lamb that is topped with vegetables and potatoes.
The area is also famous for it’s offal dishes including the well known “Love in Disguise.” This is a traditional recipe for lambs’ hearts that consists of lamb hearts in their casings stuffed with butter, onions, breadcrumbs, and nutmeg. The hearts are baked and served with their own juices as the sauce.
The north of England is also the home of Stump. This is the classic tasty vegetable puree that consists of carrots, swede and potatoes. The vegetables are cooked in salted water and then mashed with butter and milk and salt.
A popular cold dish is Slamgundi. This is made from meats, fish and variety of vegetables. Pieces of cooked fish, duck and chicken are served in a dressing along with tomatoes, cucumbers, celery sticks, olives and hard-boiled eggs.
The area is also known for it’s vegetable dishes. One is Pan Haggartty which is a warming, filling dish that consist of sliced potatoes, onions and cheddar cheese baked in the oven and covered with pepper.
Cumberland Rum Nicky is a famous sticky tart made in the area. It is made from several of the exotic ingredients found in India. The tasty tarts contain dried apricots, ginger, dates, rum, golden sugar and butter.
Strawberries grow everywhere in the area in the summer. The Northern England version of strawberry shortcake is known as Courting Cake. This is spongey cake layered with whipped cream and bruised strawberries that have been soaking in sugar.
Tansies are herb peculiar to the North of England and in particular to the area of Lake Windemere. Damson and Apple Tansy is a very popular dish that is part custard and part-omelette. Tansy is a very bitter sweet herb that is baked with apples sugar, cinnamon and cloves to create a delicious and nutritious desert.
Have you ever wondered where Gingerbread Men come from? It is from the North of England. They are made of golden syrup, flour, ginger and eggs. Authentic gingerbread men from the North of England are decorated with dried currants and nothing else!