A quiet archive of
traditional British cooking.
Named for the dish itself — a whole quail wrapped in pastry, handled carefully and served without ceremony. Everything here is written down the way it is cooked.
Browse the archiveBeef Wellington
A showpiece of the English Sunday: a rosy fillet of beef, a whisper of mustard, a duxelles of mushrooms and a burnished cloak of buttery pastry. It is the sort of dish that quiets a room when it comes to the table.
Shepherd's Pie
Not to be confused with its beefy cousin the cottage pie: shepherd's pie is made with lamb, and only lamb. Slow-cooked with rosemary and a good glug of Worcestershire, then crowned with clouds of buttery mash.
Cornish Pasty
Miner's lunch, farmer's pocket-warmer, national treasure. The genuine Cornish pasty is a D-shaped case of shortcrust, filled raw with beef skirt, potato, swede and onion, and crimped along one side like a scallop's edge.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
A modern classic with the soul of an old pudding. Dark, date-sweet sponge drenched in a burnt-butter toffee sauce and served with something cold — cream, ice cream, or a good pouring custard.
Toad in the Hole
Fat pork sausages nestled into a giant Yorkshire pudding — this is a Wednesday-night dinner dressed up in Sunday clothes. Serve it with onion gravy and buttered greens and it becomes a feast.
Victoria Sponge
The teatime cake by which every other teatime cake is judged. Two feather-light sponges, a scarlet layer of raspberry jam, a slick of softly whipped cream, and a snowfall of icing sugar.
Beef Wellington
A showpiece of the English Sunday: a rosy fillet of beef, a whisper of mustard, a duxelles of mushrooms and a burnished cloak of buttery pastry. It is the sort of dish that quiets a room when it comes to the table.
Shepherd's Pie
Not to be confused with its beefy cousin the cottage pie: shepherd's pie is made with lamb, and only lamb. Slow-cooked with rosemary and a good glug of Worcestershire, then crowned with clouds of buttery mash.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
A modern classic with the soul of an old pudding. Dark, date-sweet sponge drenched in a burnt-butter toffee sauce and served with something cold — cream, ice cream, or a good pouring custard.