This is an extract from our weekly Feast newsletter, written by Felicity Cloake, Meera Sodha, Rachel Roddy and others. Sign up here to get it free to your inbox every Thursday.
Any British reference to the US’s most popular holiday puts me in mind of Regina George’s line in that noughties classic Mean Girls. To paraphrase: “Stop trying to make Thanksgiving happen. It’s not going to happen.” We’ve enthusiastically adopted the charming tradition of the Black Friday sales that follow, but given that the Christmas decorations went up around here when people were still setting off fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night, our busy festive calendars simply don’t have time for another shindig.
But if you are celebrating Thanksgiving, you might be tempted to ring the changes. Might I suggest Yotam Ottolenghi’s take on roast turkey with an ancho chilli gravy (pictured top), Hetty McKinnon’s green bean casserole with the rather unorthodox addition of tahini, my own sweet potato version with a muscovado and nut crumble on top, Heather Blake’s pecan pie spiked with Guinness or Kate Young’s Little Town on the Prairie pumpkin one?
But perhaps you’re planning to have turkey and cranberry sauce for lunch at some point next month, and can’t be bothered to faff about with pumpkins again so soon after Halloween. Maybe you’d prefer to gather friends around the table for Ottolenghi’s stuffed chicken thighs with barberries and feta, Nigel Slater’s hearty potato, haddock and clam soup with horseradish rouille, or Meera Sodha’s Marmite risotto. (Meera’s recipe is vegan, though having used dairy butter in the version from her latest book Dinner, I can confirm it’s easily adapted and very good with grated parmesan, too.)
And while I wouldn’t want to piggyback on celebrations that have very little to do with either modern Britons or even the historical record, the idea of the nation coming together in gratitude – with no commercial imperative – is an undeniably pleasant one. The world may feel a little grim at the moment, but there are small green shoots, even as we stare into the depths of winter – dark, leafy things always taste better after the first frost, for example. I bought a gorgeous January king cabbage in Edinburgh, last weekend, which would have been delicious in Thomasina Miers’s charred cabbage with jerusalem artichokes and chestnuts or Anna Jones’s crispy butter beans with kale, parmesan and lemon (though we paired it with roast pork, swede and leeks). It’s also a good time to let bittersweet, resolutely unglamorous root veg take centre stage, as in Anna’s smoky swede carbonara (who doesn’t feel blessed to exist in the same world as carbonara?) or Yotam’s Chinese-inspired vegan turnip cake.
I’d be sincerely glad to sit down to any of these, but it’s hard to feel entirely satisfied by one’s lot without pudding. Tom Kerridge’s steamed ginger pudding with vanilla custard would put the smile back on my ungrateful face, as would Joe Trivelli’s pear, persimmon and ricotta tart (pictured above), while Ravneet Gill’s toffee apple upside-down cake would certainly do the same for my frown. Whether or not you’re celebrating next week, if you’re lucky enough to have food on your table, there’s a lot to be thankful for.
My week in food
Suffolking good | It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of spending time in Suffolk, and I’d forgotten just how good the local produce can be. Emmett’s black cured ham and bacon, Wooster’s malt loaf, Pump Street chocolate and Pinney’s smoked fish are just a few old friends who gave me joy last week. New on my radar, however, is Watson and Walpole in Framlingham, with its voluptuous, wood-fired focaccia, pillowy tiramisu and a 12th-century castle outside.
A flight of cheese | Back in July, The Courtyard Dairy conducted an experiment in which four different wensleydale cheese makers made their product on site in Settle, North Yorkshire, using the Courtyard’s equipment, milk and maturation methods to interrogate one of the great questions of our age: what is wensleydale cheese? The results aimed to show how milk and method affect flavour, “even when the cheese makers are trying to make the same cheese!” I was amazed at how different each tasted, and delighted there was nary a dried cranberry in any of ’em.
On a roll | One of the many things I love about spending time with family in Scotland is the greater respect granted to the old-fashioned bread roll. Even the smallest cafe or grocery store will sell you a stout square in several shades of brown, from lightly tanned to what my niece witheringly describes as “totally burnt”, though well-fired morning rolls have a devoted following. A thick, fluffy roll is far better for soaking up the grease of eggs and bacon, or indeed starring in a vada pav, than boring old bread. Why they’re not more popular south of the border, I have no idea.
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Too good to eat | Beer-drinking crabs and foot-high hamburgers are just some of the wonders on show at Looks Delicious! in Japan House, London, an exhibition of the hyperrealistic replica foods used to entice visitors into restaurants in Japan (pictured above). This century-old craft has become an art form, and my visit was unexpectedly fascinating; I just wish the crab had been for sale at the gift shop.
Comfort Eating with Grace Dent
Bafta-award winning actor Monica Dolan shares her ultimate comfort food with Grace. Known for playing cardigan-wearing villains, Dolan has been described as one of the greatest actors of her generation. She talks about the hell of Covid shopping, how to play a serial killer and how a weekly Irish stew held her family together during childhood.