Book of Days Tales

On this date in 1949 George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, was published for the first time.  Orwell’s health was in rapid decline because of advanced tuberculosis, and he lived only a few months after the publication (at the age of 46).  It is without doubt his best known work, with Animal Farm coming in second. Taken together they have sold more copies worldwide than any two books of any other 20th century author.  By 1989, Nineteen eighty-Four had been translated into 65 languages, and since its date of publication has always been banned in at least one country. I’d love to write a book that was banned.

One of Orwell’s lesser known essays is “In Defence of English Cooking” published in the Evening Standard in 1945.  Here he takes on the supposedly brilliant observation of the know-it-all world traveler that English cooking is awful.  In response to this arrogant, self-congratulatory ignorance he lists all manner of goodies that are absolutely delicious and not to be found anywhere else (at least back then): kippers, clotted Devonshire cream, treacle tart, plum pudding, apple dumplings, saffron buns, Oxford marmalade, bramble jelly, regional sausages and cheeses, including the sublime Stilton .  .  . to which I will add steak and kidney pie (and pudding), fish and chips, scones, Bakewell tart, Kendal mint cake, Melton Mowbray pork pie, veal, ham, and egg pie, Cornish pasties , sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, and honeycomb ice cream .  .  .  My list is endless too.

Orwell and I agree on one classic: Yorkshire pudding.  A Sunday roast of beef with crisp roast potatoes and fresh greens is not complete without Yorkshire pudding loaded with lashings of gravy made from the beef drippings.  Yorkshire pudding was, and sometimes still is, made by pouring an egg batter directly into the dripping pan under the meat towards the end of the cooking time. Nowadays many cooks, myself included, make individual puddings in ovenproof ramekins, but the general idea is much the same.  The general rule of thumb is ⅓ cup of flour and ⅓ cup of milk per egg for the batter.  Here is my own recipe (sort of). When cooking these puddings myself I don’t measure anything; I just know what I am looking for when it comes to the consistency of the batter.  As best I can I have set down precise measurements. Cooking time will depend on the oven temperature for the roast.  I routinely cook my roasts at high temperatures (around 450°F/230°C), so the puddings are ready in about 15 minutes.  One simple way to replicate my method is to take the roast out to rest, and then turn the oven up when ready to cook the puddings.

Tío Juan’s Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients:

⅔ cup (1.6 dl) all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (1.6 dl) milk (more or less)
2 large eggs
pinch of salt
drippings from the roast

Instructions:

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt.

Add the milk slowly, beating with a wire whisk until the mixture has the consistency of thick cream. Use just enough milk to achieve this.  Do not make the mixture watery; err on the side of stiff.  The eggs will add more moisture.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating them until you have a smooth batter.

Let the batter rest, and meanwhile place 1 tablespoon (.15 dl) of beef drippings in each of 6 ramekins and place them on a baking sheet. Put them into the oven until the drippings are bubbling.  Divide the batter between the ramekins and bake until the tops of the puddings are golden.

They must be served immediately, so organize the serving of the meal so that the gravy has already been made, and the meat rested, (I carve at the table). If there are any puddings left over at the end of the meal, it used to be common (not any more), to eat them smothered in honey for dessert.

Yield: 6