Best British Food
It’s hearty, comforting and bloody delicious
I was living abroad for a few years and one of the things I was looking forward to the most when coming back to the UK was the food. Britain is not exactly renowned for its cuisine, but for me, it’s the taste of nostalgia, of being cosy in the middle of a dark winter, of family meals and good times.
I absolutely love the rich variety of food options that have developed in the last twenty-odd years or so in the UK — most of them borrowed from other countries. In the last five years in particular it seems that the vegetarian and vegan options have really boomed, and as a vegetarian, I am delighted about this.
I really love that there is such a variety of cuisines and types of food available in the UK, but it is the traditional British stuff that I’ve really enjoyed eating since I got back.
I’m listing my top ten favourites here. Let me know what yours are in the comments!
Disclaimer: As I’m vegetarian, all of my options here are going to be veggie based!
1. Sunday Roast dinner with A LOT of gravy (I always have a nut roast, obviously) (pictured above)
A Sunday roast is a collection of different delicious elements, usually: Yorkshire Puddings, roasted parsnips, roasted potatoes, some other vegetables, stuffing and the meat or veggie centerpiece, all covered in lashings of gravy. Gravy is completely delicious. If you’ve never had it, it’s like a thick, dark brown sauce that you pour over your Sunday roast. It’s a hearty array of comforting and warm food, normally eaten on Sundays because it takes a lot of time to prepare. A lot of pubs serve Sunday roasts, but the best ones are homemade.
2. Toad in the Hole (with veggie sausages)
This is similar to a Sunday roast, but it doesn’t have all of the same elements. Sausages are cooked in the same batter mix that creates Yorkshire puddings and then you eat it with potatoes, peas and guess what, A LOT of gravy. Oh my, it is so good.
3. Crumpets
A crumpet is a circular piece of bread that you toast in the toaster. It is kind of spongy and has holes in it, which serve the purpose of allowing copious amounts of butter to soak through and melt and it just creates the best snack, especially on a cold afternoon in winter when you’ve been out for a long walk. I can’t actually buy them too often because I eat them all in one afternoon.
4. Sticky Toffee Pudding (served with custard)
I am honestly salivating writing this list. I thought I’d throw something sweet into the mix. STP is basically a sponge cake with toffee syrup served warm and you can eat it with custard (another food of the gods, should have had its own entry to be honest) or ice cream. It’s warm and sweet and reminds me of home.
5. Fish and Chips (plant-based fish for me) AND mushy peas — those are essential
Hopefully, you eat the whole lot by the seaside and successfully manage to fend off the seagulls. This is probably one of Britain’s most famous exports. Fish fried in batter with thick-cut chips. Mushy peas are probably a more northern delicacy, essentially garden peas that have been mushed up a bit, but they’re essential as otherwise it can be a bit of a dry dish.
6. Greggs’ cheese, onion and potato pasty (has to be eaten warm or there’s just no point)
Greggs is a bakery that does a lot of cheap pasties and other baked goods and some sandwiches and stuff. But the cheese, onion and potato pasty is the best. It’s cheesy and oniony and a gooey mush. What’s not to like?!
7. Prawn cocktail crisps
(Which ironically are suitable for vegetarians because the “prawn” flavour comes from a variety of ingredients, none of which contain animal products). They’re crisps that taste kind of sweet. Along with Skips and Pickled Onion Monster Munch (could probably have had their own entry) they are high-quality British snacking cuisine!
8. Beans on Toast
I could have put a full English breakfast on here, but let’s be honest — who has the time to make that? (It’s also full of meat and although I absolutely bloody love a hash brown, I think those might be from the US.). Beans on toast is a cheap, fast meal that you can make at any time of the day. Get a tin of Heinz Baked Beans (Heinz is the best, don’t be tempted by other brands). Heat it gently on the hob. Toast some really nice bread, slather it in butter, add the beans on top and some grated cheddar cheese if you’re being fancy. Filling, marginally healthy (especially if you use brown bread), but most importantly, delicious.
9. Cheese scone/cheese straw
You might have heard of the debate of whether you pronounce it scone (rhymes with none) or scone (rhymes with drone). Frankly, I couldn’t care less. The fact is that it’s another piece of gluten heaven, especially when served warm and with lashings of butter (I think there’s a theme here). If you can’t get a scone, then a cheese straw (basically cheese baked into layers of pastry) isn’t a bad backup. They’re quite different and yet equally delicious.
10. Shortbread biscuits
These biscuits are more about nostalgia than anything because I always used to eat them at my grandparents’ house. They are buttery biscuits but without being too sweet and just take the edge off your afternoon sugar cravings.
And that’s it. My top ten things to eat when I’m at home.
Do you agree with the list? What else would you add?
