I’ve had a couple of questions this week from friends and family around how much I cook vs dining out, and just generally what my diet is like here.
The Brits love wrapping things in pastry (except fruit, oddly. I’ve yet to see an apple, or berry, or peach pie. Hunh.). I was trying to think what the meat pie section of Tesco’s would compare to back home, and the best I could come up with was the frozen pizza section of the Superstore. I would say that the same amount of shelf space is devoted to meat pies (fresh, frozen, ready to eat) in our local supermarket in Kirkwall (pop. ~9,000) as is devoted to frozen pizzas in the largest grocery store in Milton (pop. 140,000+).
Dear God, the selection! There’s sausage rolls (just like at home but at least twice the size), steak & (insert 2nd ingredient here: kidney, tatties, mushroom, stilton, or ale), Cornish pasties (beef & potato half-moons), Melton Mowbray pork pies, Forfar bridies (minced steak in what looks like a small calzone), Lancashire cheese & onion pies, mince pies (ground beef with gravy), baked beans & cheddar in pastry (seriously, it was pretty good), fish, game, or rabbit pies, and my absolute favourite: Scotch pies (minced mutton with lots of pepper).
I must admit I probably have one or two variations on a meat pie each week, but to be clear, unlike the British, I don’t have any additional starch with them, usually just a salad or some homemade coleslaw. Pies here are usually served with mash, or chips. Or beans. Or all three – on menus here I have seen pie, chips, baked beans, and peas. All starch, all at once, all on one plate.
These are not the only things I eat, I promise. I will share a few of the other culinary delights I have tried (or even made) in future posts – and just wait until you see some of the things this country sells in cans.