Part 15 (1/2)

While perhaps foreign to many American palates, beef tongue was a popular breakfast (or even lunch) dish for the Victorian and Edwardian English. It's likely that many of the Downton Abbey staff felt they would swallow their own tongues in their attempts to stay silent at some of the gross misbehavior of their employers. Boiled beef tongue is a very lean and very fine-grained meat, thus making it not just extremely tender, but very nutritious.

YIELDS 4 SERVINGS.

1 fresh beef tongue 2 medium onions, chopped 2 large carrots, chopped 4 celery stalks, chopped 4 sprigs parsley 14 cup Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons capers, drained In a medium-sized pot, add beef tongue, vegetables, and parsley. Cover ingredients with water. Boil uncovered for 3124 hours.

Remove tongue from pot; don't worry if it appears discolored. Remove the skin from tongue, slicing the skin lengthwise and peeling it back. Though you shouldn't find any gristle or small bones, if you do, remove them as well.

Slice tongue. Serve cooled with mustard and capers.

Times Gone By Before the British discovered the joy of beef tongue, the Paleolithic hunters sought it out - along with its fatty counterparts such as trotters (feet), brains, or marrow. Although tongue is mainly a dish served to the middle and lower cla.s.ses, even the upper cla.s.s would have enjoyed this delight.

Breakfast Baked Beans

No full English breakfast is complete without baked beans in tomato sauce served on toast! It's easy to imagine Mr. Bates or Mr. Carson slathering these beans on a piece of bread before hurrying to help their masters. Baked beans on toast continued to be a European breakfast staple over the years and is still enjoyed today.

YIELDS 68 SERVINGS 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced 1 teaspoon chili flakes 1 tablespoon light brown sugar 1 teaspoon honey 12 cup tomato paste 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 2 cups chicken stock 1 teaspoon kosher salt 12 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 loaf sourdough bread, sliced and toasted Preheat oven to 350F. In a 4-quart ovenproof dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions, stirring often, until they begin to brown. Using a wooden spoon, sc.r.a.pe any browned onion bits from side of pot.

Add garlic, rosemary, and chili flakes, and let cook for 2 minutes. Mix in brown sugar, honey, and tomato paste, stirring thoroughly to combine. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken stock, followed by salt and pepper.

Stir in beans. Cover pot and cook in oven for 1 hour or until beans are softened to desired consistency. Serve over toast.

Times Gone By While this recipe requires you to make your own beans, most English folk would make breakfast easy on themselves by using a can of Heinz Baked Beans or Branston Baked Beans. Heinz Baked Beans were originally made with pork, a practice that stopped due to rationing during World War II. Nonetheless, during Downton Abbey's time, canned beans, while likely acceptable for the staff to eat, would not be chosen over Mrs. Patmore's own special recipe.

O'Brien's Black Pudding

Also known as Blood Pudding, this British dish - traditionally consisting of pork blood, oatmeal, and sometimes onions - would normally be served for breakfast but could also be offered at lunch or even dinner. It's not hard to imagine the spiteful O'Brien (who perhaps has more of a heart than she's willing to let on) enjoying this dish as she harbors ill-will toward the Countess of Grantham... feelings that would eventually vanish after the horrible accident with the misplaced soap.

YIELDS 4 SERVINGS.

4 cups fresh pork blood 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 cup whole milk 2 large onions, chopped 12 ounces suet, shredded 12 cup oatmeal 1 teaspoon nutmeg 14 teaspoon oregano 14 teaspoon basil 14 teaspoon rosemary 12 teaspoon cayenne pepper Prepared sausage skins (optional) 12 cup unsalted b.u.t.ter (optional) 14 cup vinegar (optional) Preheat oven to 300F.

Pour blood into a deep pan, keeping cool. Stir in salt.

Slowly stir in milk, onions, suet, oatmeal, herbs, and spices. Pour blood mixture into prepared sausage skins, or else pour into a large ovenproof dish such as a dutch oven.

Bake sausage skins or dish, covered, in a water bath for 1122 hours. Alternatively, cover and steam blood mixture in a large saucepan for the same amount of time.

Allow sausages to cool, then slice. Fry sausages in b.u.t.ter if desired, or serve with vinegar.

Times Gone By This dish is considered a delicacy in the English Black Country (hence the name) and in the English North West, especially in Lancas.h.i.+re, which is also the home of the World Black Pudding Throwing Champions.h.i.+ps. While this dish is incredibly popular in England, variants can also be found throughout Europe in Germany, Austria, and even France. Asia and Spain also offer a type of black pudding, though their versions use rice instead of the oatmeal found in most European versions.

Chapter 10.

A QUICK LUNCH BETWEEN BUSINESS.

The servants would take their lunch - which they referred to as dinner - at midday, long after the aristocrats ate their own lunch. This would be the most filling meal of the servants' day. Whereas lunch for the upper cla.s.s was not a large or formal affair, the servants' own lunch (also known as dinner) had a rigorous etiquette. The staff would stand around the table until their superiors sat down; the butler (Mr. Carson) and housekeeper (Mrs. Hughes) would sit at the heads of the table. Men would be allowed to drink three pints of beer with their dinner, while women were not allowed more than two. Nonetheless, this would be a great period of respite (and likely, venting) for the servants before the rest of the long workday.

Cla.s.sic Cornish Pasty

It is likely that at least one of the many workers at Downton Abbey hails from Cornwall, and that this pasty - often lauded as Cornwall's national dish - would be beloved by any of the Downton Abbey servants, Cornish or not. The pasty, British slang for a pie made with meat, dates back all the way to the 1300s, and was actually originally a dish meant for the wealthy. By the 1600s, however, members of the working cla.s.s were also enjoying this dish, as it could be easily eaten while on the go.

YIELDS 6 CORNISH PASTIES.

For Pastry 214 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 4 ounces cold, unsalted b.u.t.ter, cut into pieces 4 ounces lard, cut into pieces 1 large egg yolk 6 tablespoons cold water For Filling 114 pounds rump roast, diced 2 small yellow onions, finely chopped 1 potato, cut into 14-inch dice 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 large egg, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons whole milk For pastry sh.e.l.l: In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Using your fingers, knead the b.u.t.ter and lard into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coa.r.s.e bread crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and water, then add to flour mixture. Mix thoroughly until dough just forms. Knead until pastry is smooth. You should be able to manipulate dough without breaking it, but the dough should also retain its texture. Press into a flattened disc shape and wrap in plastic. If pastry breaks while rolling it out, add a bit more water. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Unwrap dough and roll out until it is 14-inch thick. Cut out six circles, each about 56 inches in diameter. Stack the pastry rounds onto pieces of parchment paper (with pieces between each round to prevent sticking) and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Preheat oven to 400F.

For filling: In a medium to large mixing bowl, combine meat, onions, potato, salt, and pepper until thoroughly mixed.

Remove pastry sh.e.l.ls from refrigerator. Place on a clean surface, then place about 1412 cup of filling to one side of the center of each pastry. Using the beaten egg, brush the edges of the pastry and then bring the unfilled side over to cover the filled side so edges meet. Press edges together and seal, then crimp with a fork. Repeat with remaining pasties.

Brush all pasties with remaining egg. Cut several slits into the top of the pasties. Bake for 25 minutes or until pasties are golden brown around edges. Reduce heat to 350F. Continue baking until pasties are completely golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.