A Taste of Yorkshire

I have a tea towel from England covered with recipes from Yorkshire, a beautiful county in northern England.

Yorkshire is the largest county in England. It's known for its beautiful countryside including the heather-covered Yorkshire Moors and the Dales which are a patchwork of farmlands dotted with hills, rivers and streams.

Yorkshire was also home to James Herriot, best selling author of the books based on his experiences as a country veterinarian including All Creatures Great and Small.

So I thought it would be fun to create a page with all of the recipes from the tea towel.

Some recipes will be familiar - Yorkshire Pudding for example. But, unless you're from England (specifically Yorkshire) you may not have even heard of most of them...Barnsley Chops with Red Currant Sauce, for example. Or Oat Cakes or Treacle Toffee.

Here's your chance to go on an epicurian adventure! Isn't it fun to try something new?

The Beautiful Yorkshire Dales

English cooking is usually simple but hearty fare. In fact, recipes from all of Great Britain whether from England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales are delicious comfort foods. And it's usually quite easy to tell where they're from...just like these from Yorkshire.

The quintessential dish to serve with a lovely beef roast...

Ingredients

4 oz of flour

¼ teaspoon of salt

2 eggs

½ pint of milk and water (mixed)

Add two tablespoons of beef drippings

Method

Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Making a well in the centre, break the eggs into this, and beat them, gradually adding the milk and water, and incorporating the flour little by little. Beat the batter until smooth and leave in a cool place for 1 hour. Set the oven at 450 degrees F. (gas mark 7). Place the dripping into a tin (11" x 7") and put in the oven until very hot. Pour the batter into the tin and cook for about 25 minutes until risen, golden brown and crisp. Cut into squares and serve hot.

In a hurry? Try this ready-to-cook Yorkshire pudding. These days, timesavers are all important. I wouldn't hesitate to use this quick version!

Clouds Over a Cultivated Field

Hunmanby, Yorkshire Wolds, England

United Kingdom

Ingredients

1 lb of Rhubarb - cut into 1 inch lengths

2 oz. of sugar

1 Tablespoon of water and the juice of 1 orange

Crumble Topping:

4 oz of wholemeal flour

2 oz of muesli

3 oz of butter

2 oz of soft brown sugar

grated rind of one orange

Method

Set the oven to 350 degrees F. Mark 4

Put the rhubarb, sugar and water in a large pan and simmer until the rhubarb is soft. Remove the rhubarb and put in an ovenproof dish.

Reduce the liquid until syrupy and stir in the orange juice. Pour over the rhubarb. For the topping, rub the butter into the flour. Mix in the remaining ingredients and distribute evenly over the rhubarb. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes and serve with cream.

I'd like to introduce these Yankee recipes to those of you from Yorkshire! Rhubarb is rhubarb no matter where you are from!

Seriously, how easy is this recipe!! If you love lamb, you're almost obligated to give it a try, don't you think? Plus, it's a fabulous excuse for purchasing a lovely bottle of port!

Ingredients & Method

2 lamb chops per person and oil for brushing

Redcurrant Sauce:

4 tablespoons of redcurrant jelly and 1 glass of port

Melt the jelly in a small pan. Add the port and boil for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and keep warm.

Brush the lamb chops with oil and grill for 8-9 minutes turning occasionally.

Serve hot with the sauce.

A recipe sure to satisfy any sweet tooth!

Ingredients & Method

1 lb of soft brown sugar

¼ pint of water

4 oz. of butter

1 teaspoon of malt vinegar.

6 oz. of black treacle

2 oz. of golden syrup.

Oil a shallow 7 inch square tin. Put the water and sugar in a large heavy based pan over a low heat and dissolve the sugar.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Insert a sugar thermometer, and boil without stirring, until the mixture reaches 270 degrees F. Alternately drop some mixture into cold water, when the soft crack stage is reached it will form hard threads. Pour into the tin and leave for awhile. Mark into squares and leave to set.

Ingredients & Method

8 oz of fine oatmeal

½ a level teaspoon of salt

Pinch of bicarbonate of soda

1 oz of butter and cold water, to mix

Pre-set the oven to 300 degrees F, Mark 2.

Put the oatmeal, salt and soda into a bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients and add the water. Mix to a firm dough.

Dust a surface with oatmeal and knead the dough lightly until smooth. Roll out thinly and cut into round biscuits using a plain cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet in the oven for 1 hour until crisp. Serve cold with butter and Wensleydale cheese.

A delicious dish for a chilly day...

Ingredients & Method

1 lb of belly pork

12 oz of cooked smoked bacon

1 tablespoon of oil

2 large onions - sliced

2 cloves of garlic - crushed

2-15 oz tins of chopped tomatoes

1 level teaspoon of dried mixed herbs and 1-1/2 lbs of mixed cooked beans (kidney beans, butter beans, etc.)

Grill the pork. Remove the rind and cut into ½ inch strips. Cut the bacon into similar sized strips. Set oven to 350 degrees F, Mark 4. Cook the onions in a large pan using the oil, until soft. Add the garlic, tomatoes and herbs. Put a layer of the tomato mixture into a deep casserole dish. Followed by a layer of the meat and a layer of the beans. Repeat until the dish is full. Cover and cook for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Serve hot with crusty bread and a green side salad.

What is a knob of butter? What's "belly pork"? How big is a dessertspoon? How do you convert oven temperatures from British to American?

The answers to these and other cooking questions can be found at the followingl link.

A wonderful side dish

Ingredients & Method

1-1/2 lbs of shredded red cabbage.

2 oz. of butter

2 large cooking apples - prepared

1/3 pint of cider vinegar and

4 oz. of redcurrant jelly

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the sliced apples and cabbage. Cover and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook gently for 45 minutes or until the cabbage is just soft. Add the redcurrant jelly and cook for 15 minutes. Serve hot with roasts.

A light but satisfying dessert...

Ingredients & Method

6 oz. of plain block chocolate

3 tablespoons of black coffee

a knob of butter

1 desertspoon of rum and

3 medium eggs - separated

Put the coffee and broken chocolate into a bowl standing over a pan of hot water. Stir until melted and hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and rum. Add the egg yolks one at a time, stirring well. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the chocolate mixture. Turn into individual dishes and chill.

If you've ever read All Creatures Great and Small or any of Herriot's wonderful tales you'll love this book. If this doesn't make you want to travel to Yorkshire, I don't know what would.

Thank you for visiting. If you've got a delicious recipe for a dish from Yorkshire please let me know...I'll add it to this lens with proper credit.