Peasant Food
‘‘You learn to cook so that you don't have to be a slave to recipes. You get what's in season and you know what to do with it.’’ ~ Julia Child
‘‘When a man's stomach is full it makes no difference whether he is rich or poor.’’ ~Euripides
I’m not going to write too much about Covid-19. I’m sick of hearing about it and I’m sure you are too. I don’t say that to make light of it or the situation we find ourselves in but I just mean I’m sick of hearing about it. It’s been interesting though, seeing how we cope not only with the virus itself but also with the restrictions placed on us as we try and combat the virus globally and nationally and for the most part it’s been inspiring to see that so many within my own local community have gone out of their way to help others. It gives hope.
I was particularly interested to read an old school friends social media posts about food and how much she wastes. It came as a surprise to her, that she throws out so much good food. Of course, there were the usual suggestions of freezing it, but so many people in the UK will find themselves with full freezers as they’ve prepared for the pandemic. It’s in this time where the fact that we’ve forgotten how to actually cook, to actually make the most of the food we have, becomes most glaringly obvious, and indeed a surprise. When I talk about how to cook, I don’t necessarily mean the following of a recipe to create a nice meal, but to actually make something using what we already have, what is available to us. This type of cooking is akin to magic.
Many people might find themselves with a load of fresh food that is about to go off, or may already be past it’s freshest best and much of that food is destined for the bin and the landfill, but it needn’t be. Using the food that we have and have access to in order to create filling, nutritious meals is a type of magic and resistance all in itself. Here I’ll share with you a few of my favourite recipes to help get you through the madness of the pandemic. These are peasant foods, food that nourish the soul. Share with your loved ones. Make meal times special again and not just a time to consume fuel. Share the experience with those you live with or by yourself. Savour the food and the moment. Take some joy from the simple pleasure that is cooking and eating.
Just a note on my cooking style before we begin - I very rarely measure and weigh ingredients. I think part of this stems from when I first lived alone and was very poor, so poor that weighing scales were a luxury I couldn’t afford, and even now when I’m not that poor anymore, I find my scales are at the back of a cupboard and rarely used except when perhaps baking cakes. I don’t know, I guess I just cook by sight and taste, adding more of the stuff I like. I’m a rebel that way (ha!). I have included rough weights and measures for recipes such as bread but the more you get used to cooking this food, you’ll get an eye for correct consistencies and what not.
Soda Bread
I love soda bread and I love making it. It has got to be one of the easiest breads to make and in this rare climate where supermarkets have sold out of basic ingredients such as yeast, this recipe doesn’t require any. At it’s most basic it is just flour, water and bicarbonate of soda.
You will need:
300g plain flour
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
250ml of water.
Simply sieve the dry ingredients into a mixing well before making a well in the centre. Add the water and mix until you have a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly before shaping into a ball. Place onto a baking tray and flatten slightly. Then, using a sharp knife, cut a cross into the top before placing in a hot oven and bake at 200 degrees until golden brown.
Stocks
Now before I begin this part I will say I don’t eat meat. I’m not going to bang on about ethics and morals here, that isn’t what this piece is about and besides, I do not eat meat but everyone else in my household does, and I hate wasting any food, so I make stock. Stocks are the basis for so many other dishes including gravies, sauces and soups, so if you get the hang of making a good stock, you’ll be able to make many other kinds of dishes. Soups are a good way of using up fresh produce that is past it’s freshest best such as vegetables that have lost their firmness.
You will need:
A pan large enough for the bones.
The bones or carcass.
4 or so cloves of garlic depending on taste, crushed by the end of your knife or palm of your hand.
2 - 3 sticks of celery, roughly chopped.
2 - 3 carrots, roughly chopped.
2 - 3 onions, quartered.
Herbs (and here feel free to use any you have available or those you simply like the taste of though I always add a bay leaf or 2).
These are so easy to make. Simply place all of the ingredients into your pan and cover with water so that the bones are covered. Place on the hob and bring to the boil before turning down the heat and let it simmer. Leave for around an hour or until the liquid has reduced by half, then simply strain the liquid into a clean container and allow to cool. When it has cooled, you’ll notice that the fat has solidified and this can be scraped off. You may also find that the stock itself has become jelly like and this is totally acceptable.
For vegetable stock the method is the same but the ingredients differ in that there are no meat bones and perhaps more veg. I also save the odds and ends when chopping veg for other meals. These can be frozen and kept until needed and added to the stock pan.
And Finally…Bread and Butter Pudding
I made this the other day. We had a load of bread that was one or two days past it’s best before date and I didn’t want to throw it away but you wouldn’t want to make a sandwich with it either. This is one of those meals that is proper peasant food but is great for using up any other bits and pieces that need using up. This is a savoury dish and you can have it at whatever time of day you choose.
You will need:
A baking dish or deep sided tray.
Bread. If it is sliced bread then cut the slices into 4. If it is the unsliced variety, then just pull apart into chunks.
4 eggs
A dash of milk
Grated cheese
1 onion, roughly chopped.
Any vegetables you have that might need using or you don’t have enough for a serving.
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste.
Grease the baking dish or tray with butter and don’t be afraid to apply liberally. If you have sliced bread you can butter these too if want before cutting. Layer the bread, cheese and onion into the tray or dish with whatever vegetables you are using. You can add chopped garlic if you want (I add garlic to almost everything). Beat the eggs with the milk and pour over, sprinkling the rest of the cheese over the top. Add whatever herbs or spices you like. put in a hot oven and bake until golden brown.
So there you have it, some of my favourite recipes. I could go on and there are so many others I can share, but part of the magic of cooking is discovering those delights for yourself. Feel free to alter these recipes however you wish to suit your tastes and ingredients, for that are what recipes should be, a guide rather than a strict set of instructions. These recipes are working class foods, peasant foods but ones that nourish the soul, and in this time our souls and spirits are in need of nourishing for worry takes its toll. Keep safe and well folks.
‘‘French cooking is really the result of peasants figuring out how to extract flavor from pedestrian ingredients. So most of the food that we think of as elite didn't start out that way.’’ ~ Michael Pollan
‘‘You know most of the food that Americans hold so dear - things like hamburgers and hot dogs - were road food, but even before they were road food, they were peasant food.’’
~Alton Brown
EMMA KATHRYN
My name is Emma Kathryn, my path is a mixture of traditional European witchcraft, vodou and obeah, a mixture representing my heritage. I live in the sticks with my family where I read tarot, practice witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
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