Recipes to
Try at Home

These recipes have been provided by our chef Michael Van Dyke for your enjoyment at home. Bon appetit!

(Recipe files are pdf)

A gastropub is a British term for a public house (pub) which specializes in high-quality food a step above the more basic "pub grub." The word, a combination of the terms gastronomy and public house, was coined in 1991 when David Eyre and Mike Belben opened a pub called The Eagle in Clerkenwell, London. The Eagle drew crowds with its bold exhibition kitchen and fresh Mediterranean menu and sparked the gastropub revolution. Not wanting to miss the boat, owners of many traditional pubs soon followed suit, hiring talented young chefs to expand their menus and even adding separate dining areas.

Gastropubs usually have a relaxed atmosphere and a focus on offering cuisine prepared as well as it is in the best restaurants. Staying true to the format requires a menu that complements the assortment of beers and wines the gastropub offers. Some describe gastropubs as the Anglo-equivalent of the French brasserie.

Gastropub cuisine defies strict categorization. Some chefs update British classics with lighter preparations and international - especially Mediterranean, Indian, and Thai - influences. Others serve innovative dishes barely recognizable as "pub food." The common denominators are a streamlined approach and a focus on seasonal ingredients. And whether you're in London or the Lake District, you'll always find a laid-back, neighbourly atmosphere and reasonable prices.

GASTROPUB GLOSSARY

Bangers & Mash

More of a serving suggestion than a recipe, Bangers and Mash is a British colloquial name for sausages (bangers) served alongside mashed potato, very often with gravy being poured over both. The sausages may be one of a variety of flavours such as pork, pork and apple, tomato, beef, Lincolnshire or Cumberland. The full meal will usually include a vegetable (e.g. peas, brussels sprouts). The gravy may be flavoured with the appropriate meat stock, or may be an onion gravy.

Bangers and Mash is a very popular winter dish, and can range in quality from the very cheapest sausages and instant mash accompanied with an instant gravy mix such as Bisto, or with high-end gourmet sausages and carefully-made mashed potatoes and gravy. This dish may, even when cooked at home, be thought of as an example of pub grub - relatively quick and easy to make in large quantities as well as being tasty and satisfying. More up-market varieties, with exotic sausages, are sold in gastropubs, as well as less exotic alternatives being available in regular pubs.

Irish Stew

Irish stew originated in Ireland but appears in cookbooks all over Europe, including in Escoffier's Guide Culinaire. Irish stew is a filling, flavourful dish made with the most readily-available ingredients. The Irish raised primarily sheep and root crops for subsistence. The sheep provided wool for warm clothing, milk for drinking and making cheese, and eventually food. Potatoes were the main food crop, prior to the potato famine. (Sometimes the potatoes are boiled separately, and added before serving, as they tend to break down faster than other ingredients.) Irish stew, or "stobhach gaelach" as it is called in Irish, is traditionally made of lamb or mutton (mutton is from less tender sheep over two years of age), potatoes, onions, and parsley. Sometimes, only lamb or mutton neck bones, shanks, and other trimmings were the only basis for the stock. Yet, these would-be discards still held enough flavor after a long simmering process to do justice to a hearty bowl of stew. The root vegetables added further flavor and thickening power, as well as filling sustenance. Some cooks added turnips or parsnips, carrots, and barley when available.

When the Irish people began immigrating to the United States, they naturally brought along their food traditions. The stew evolved and adapted to include the local offerings. Sheep were not as plentiful, so other types of meat were often substituted. When made in the traditional manner, the result is very thick and hearty, not thin like soup. The recipe has evolved to often include Guinness stout and Paprika. Some variations have exalted this original peasant dish to near gourmet status.

Ploughman's Lunch

This is a very popular thing to eat if you go to eat in a "pub" at midday. A ploughman's lunch is a cold snack or meal, featuring at a minimum, a thick piece of cheese (usually Cheddar, Stilton, or other local cheese), pickle (often Branston Pickle, sometimes piccalilli and/or pickled onions), crusty bap or chunk of bread, and butter. It is often accompanied by a green salad; other common additions are half an apple, rocket, celery, pâté, sliced hard-boiled egg or beetroot. It is a common menu item in English pubs, often shortened when ordering to "a ploughman's".

Pudding

An all-encompassing term that in the U.K. often simply means "dessert." Gastropub puddings range from grilled peaches with Zinfandel granita to treacle tart. (Treacle is a dark sugar syrup. Molasses can be substituted for it in most recipes.)

Scotch Egg

A Scotch egg is a snack food of Scottish origin consisting of a cold, hard-boiled egg removed from its shell, wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. It is eaten cold, typically with salad and pickles.

Shepherd's Pie

This baked classic originated during the 18th century in the north of England and Scotland, as sustenance for — you guessed it — sheepherders. The traditional preparation calls for minced lamb or mutton meat topped with mashed potatoes. Gastropub chefs have updated it with more upscale ingredients, such as chunks of sweet lamb shank.

Recipes toTry at Home