Ahhh . . .  the ploughman's lunch . . . you can't get more British or traditional than a ploughman's lunch.   With all of this hot weather, this is traditional pub fare that anyone can get sorted and onto the table without much fuss at all.














What is a ploughman's lunch? At it's very simplest,  it comprises a nothing more than a  thick wedge of crusty bread, a large chunk of tasty cheese and a pickled onion.

It came into favor at a time when most pub's didn't actually serve much food at all, but nowadays pub's are mainly eating places, so it's become much more than that.    It's an easy meal to prepare on these hot summer days.  

You don't need to turn the cooker on and so you can keep your cool.

 







Cheese is an important aspect of the Ploughman's Lunch.  Traditionally the cheese would have been locally made . . . so it could have been anything from Stilton to Wensleydale.  

Cheddar became the the standard and most popular cheese of choice for ploughman's lunches served in pubs in the 1960's, but I am happy to say that nowadays  it is not at all unusual to have a Stilton or even a non-Anglo cheese such as a Brie or a Camembert.   

When I saw the name of this cheese here today, I could not resist.   I just had to buy it.

Kick Ass Roasted Onion, Garlic and Chive Cheddar.  It did live up to it's name, in every way.  

It kicked ass and it was delicious, with the wonderful  tang of a good cheddar mixed with just a hint of chive and onion, and a nice hit of garlic.  Well flavoured and delicious it was . . .

In some pubs you won't find any cheese at all on the plate, instead opting for some ham or even a European Salami or even smoked sausage.  I used both ham and cheese.  

I was lucky enough to be able to buy some ham ends at the market at only 70p for 100g.  I took 200g and it was fabulous.  I liked that it was chunky for the most part and very rustic in appearance.

 






We did not have the traditional pickled onion with ours.  Whilst my husband  does enjoy a pickled onion, I find them to be quite harsh and I don't really enjoy them.  

Back home I did enjoy sweet pickled onions, but the huge ones they have over here, pickled in malt vinegar are a bit too strong for my liking.  

Instead we had a chutney . . . still somewhat of a pickle, but sweeter and a bit spicy. Branston's Pickle would also go very well.

I added some sliced apple, but you could do grapes, or pears if you prefer.   

I am not sure that fruit is traditional, but I know that it goes very well with the chutney, the jam AND the cheese.   So it's a win/win/win situation all over the plate.

I had no crusty bread . . . only a day old ciabatta loaf, but it worked beautifully, spread with some black pepper Boursin . . .  again not totally traditional, but very nice.













I added some salad leaves and sliced cucumber to bring some colour and healthy crunch to the plate.  Radishes would be nice also.  

Once again, not totally traditional, but . . . meh . . . it's my lunch, my choice.

  






Traditional or not . . . pickled onion, or chutney, or even Branstons . . . ham or cheese or both . . . apples or grapes or no fruit at all . . . 

Some tasty ham and a nice hunk of well flavoured cheese, some crusty bread and a bit of salad.   This went down a real treat, and it was cheap too.

We both enjoyed.  Summer food.  Pub food.  Tasty and enjoyable.  What more could a ploughman want?

Some other cold coalitions you might enjoy are:

 

The gooseberries are ripe in our garden now. We have both green and red ones.  They both taste pretty much the same, they're just different colours.  They are indigenous to Europe from what I understand, although you can find them pretty much all over now.   They have really sharp spines.  Apparently you can sometimes find wild Gooseberries in copses and hedgerows, but I have yet to come across any.




Like I said we have both red and green ones and I look forward to them ripening every year.   We love gooseberry crumbles and pies . . . gooseberry sauce with pork chops . . . and cakes.  Gooseberries make lovely cakes.




Lovely cakes such as these little Gooseberry Crumble Cakes which I have here in the kitchen today.  It's adapted from a recipe in Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries Volume 2, so you just know it has to be good.  Nigel's recipes always are.




I have been waiting all year to make  this cake, but it's sooooo hot today, I just couldn't imagine having a whole cake in the oven for a whole hour.  So, I decided to make small ones instead.  Using my straight sided loose bottom mini cake tin, I got six nice sized cakes, and they baked in half the time. 


 

The cake itself is lovely and moist . . . a beautiful texture, but I'd expect nothing less.   The Gooseberries add a lovely tang . . . just right with the cake, and of course that crumble topping is buttery and short.  Perfect. 




We had ours with a bit of pouring cream, as is the custom over here.  I was quite flummoxed when I moved over here and saw people pouring cream right on their cakes and pies . . . I was used to cream always being whipped and sweetened.   Now, I have to say, I am quite used to it and actually prefer it straight from the jug and un-sweetened!

 

We both enjoyed these very much and I can see that this recipe would work very well with all sorts of fruits and berries.  Don't be put off from baking it just because you don't have gooseberries.  Currants, raspberries, blueberries, chopped peaches . . . plums, pears or apples, or even a combination.   All would be lovely.  If you want to bake the cake whole, use a loose bottomed 9 inch round tin, the bottom lined with paper.   Bake it for one hour.  You will enjoy this cake no matter how you make it.  I promise you that!


Put the flour, butter and sugar into a food processor and blitz until the mixture forms crumbs.   Add a few drops of water and run a fork through the mixture lightly so that some of the crumbs stick together.  Sprinkle over top of the gooseberries loosely.  You will probably not need it all.   (You can freeze any leftovers for another time.) 

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl of a food processor.   Tip in the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like fine bread crumbs.   Tip into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar, cherries and chocolate chunks.   Beat the eggs and yogurt together in a measuring jug add milk enough to give you 400ml altogether (13 1/2 fluid ounces).   Make a well in the dry ingredients and tip in all of the milk mixture, reserving 2 TBS for later.  Mix together lightly to make a soft dough which is slightly sticky.  For light scones do not over mix.

 Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead briefly until just smooth.   Pat out to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into rounds using a sharp 3 inch cutter and using a direct up and down tap with the cutter, taking care not to twist it, cutting as many as you can from this first cutting.  Remove to the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between.  Gently re-knead the scraps and pat out, repeating the cutting process, until you have 12 rounds.

a few slices baked ham, torn into bits (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a small baking tray with grease proof paper. 

Set aside.

Brush the chicken with some olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. 

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil.   Add the potatoes and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes until al dente.  While the potatoes are cooking, hard-boil the eggs in a small saucepan to which you have added 1 tsp vinegar.  Bring the water to the boil then slide the eggs carefully into the boiling water.  Cook for 8 to 9 minutes, then drain and run under cold water until they are cool enough to handle.  Peel, cut into quarters and set aside.