13 British dishes you should try
Travelling across continents and overseas is an adventure – one where there are new sights to be seen and experiences to be enjoyed. The key to all of this, and something that defines many cultures, is food and whilst British dishes have not been very popular in recent years (England having been known more often as a land of fast food, rather than cordon-bleu cooking) there are in fact a vast array of traditional British dishes to be savoured.
Here we present thirteen of the best: the delicious, the quirky and the plain old weird.
We begin our list with likely the most iconic of all British dishes (and yes, technically, we guess it may fall under ‘fast food’). Yet this dish has been in many a British person’s diet for generations – and with Britain being home to over 10,500 fish and chip shops today, it’s clear that a love for this dish isn’t going to end anytime soon.
2. The Sunday Roast
Fish and Chips are a favourite for Friday – but for Sunday there’s often only one dish to end the week. We are of course talking about the classic Sunday Roast. This dish serves up slow-roasted meat, beautifully buttered vegetables and the essential Yorkshire pudding. The dish is completed with a lot of gravy and a selection of sauces.
3. Chicken Tikka Masala
Thought Chicken Tikka Masala came from India? Well you may need to think again. This dish was designed specifically for the British palette and is said to have actually originated from no other than Edinburgh. 4. Jellied Eels
This is one dish for only the most brave hearted, and it’s very much how it sounds: eels, in jelly, served cold, from a jar. This may not sound pleasing for the foreign palette, but for Londoners this is very much the traditional dish of the Cockneys. (A ‘cockney’ is a native of East London).
5. The Full English breakfast
If you’ve not awoken to a Full English Breakfast, then you haven’t lived. With piles of sausages, eggs, hash browns, bacon, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and buttered toast this is one dish that is not to be missed. 7. Pie and mash
Pie and mash has to be one of the simplest recipes on our list – yet the appetite for this classic dish is insatiable.
8. Cornish Pasties
Cornish pasties are where pastry and meat meet in foodie heaven. It’s so revered by the British that today the Cornish pasty can only be produced in Cornwall. Anywhere else and it’s just a plain old pasty. 9. Victoria Sponge
No top ten British dish list would be complete without a cake that was named after one of the most famous queens of all time. This fluffy sponge offering features a cream and jam core and is completed with a sprinkle of icing sugar. The perfect partner for this treat is a sweet cup of tea.
10. Black pudding
A further addition that may make it onto your Full English plate is Black pudding (which is the Brit take on Germany’s Blutwurst). This cut sausage like item consists of congealed pigs blood and cereal. It sounds pretty horrendous, however ask a Brit about it and they’ll likely tell you that looks (and that rather unsavoury description) can be deceiving. 10. Bangers and Mash
Also known as sausages and mash, this traditional dish consists of sausages and mashed potato, and is often accompanied with peas and gravy. This dish can usually be found on a menu in most pubs across the country, or can be made very easily at home.
11. Toad in the Hole
This hearty dish is another easy recipe you can make at home; it includes sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter and is often served with gravy and vegetables. Yes, you’ve probably guessed British people love Yorkshire puddings.
12. Shepherd’s Pie / Cottage Pie
These are two dishes are very similar; the only difference is the choice of meat used in the dish; in shepherd’s pie you use lamb whilst in cottage pie you use beef. And to confuse you even more, neither of these dishes are pies in the usual sense with pastry. Shepherd’s pie and cottage pie consists of: mince (lamb or beef), vegetables (such as; carrots, tomatoes, and onions), and potatoes which are on top of the meaty pie like filling.
This much loved British pie is definitely a dish you must try whilst you are in the UK. The ingredients include: beef, kidney, fried onion and gravy all wrapped up in pastry, so what’s not to love?