County 9 - Doctor Foster's Home!

Over ninety per cent of Gloucestershire is countryside, over half of which is designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ONB). The county is dominated in the East by a band of limestone hills known as the Cotswolds and to the west by the ancient Royal Forest of Dean. The Cotswolds hills rise to over 1,000 feet at Cleever Hill, a place that is wonderfully scenic and quintessentially English. The lush countryside and picture-postcard villages makes this area of Gloucestershire a highly popular tourist destination.

The River Severn runs through Gloucestershire from north to south. The Severn Valley is about 8 miles wide in the north and known locally as the Vale of Gloucester. To the south of Gloucester it narrows to become the Vale of Berkeley.

Britain's Severn Bore (a large surge wave that travels inland along the estuary of the River Severn) is a spectacular natural phenomena and is one of the largest in the world. The Severn estuary is shaped such that the incoming tidal waters are funneled into an increasingly narrow channel, as the tide rises. This forms a large wave that can travel all the way up the river to Gloucester.

http://www.travelaboutbritain.com/gloucestershire/gloucestershire.php (accessed 02.03.2016)

 

CUISINE

I found that local delicacies include: Double Gloucester - a soft mellow cheese made with full cream milk and Gloucestershire Squab Pie - lamb and apples topped with a swede and potato mash.

 

OUR EXPERIENCE

I was born in Gloucester, but didn’t live there for long, so I was intrigued by what we would have. The pancakes were lovely, better eaten as cooked than warmed up later but still not bad. We had them with syrup, so not a waist friendly meal, but a lovely warm treat on a rainy after school run. We also had them as a pudding after homemade chicken soup – delicious. The pie was tasty, although the recipe I had used a pastry top instead of the swede and potatoes mash. I think either would work. The apples just disappeared, the meat was tender enough and the beauty was I could quickly assemble and then cook. 

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Pancakes...................87

Squab Pie..................85

 

Gloucester Pancakes

6 oz flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 oz shredded suet

1 egg, beaten

salt

milk

lard for frying

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder. Rub in the suet. Knead in the egg and sufficient milk to get a firm dough. Roll out 3/4ins thick and cut into 2 ins rounds. Fry in a little melted lard until golden brown on both sides. Serve with warmed syrup or jam.

Source: English Favourite Recipes published by J Salmon

 

Squab Pie

You'd be forgiven for thinking this dish might contain young pigeons, otherwise known as squabs, but this pie has always been made with lamb; which is set off by the sharp apple and spices.

 

SERVES 4

225 g (8 oz) plain flour salt and pepper

50 g (2 oz) butter

50 g (2 oz) lard

700 g (1 1/2 lb) lamb neck fillets, sliced into 12 pieces

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and sliced

450 g (1 lb) onions, skinned and thinly sliced

1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) ground allspice

1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) grated nutmeg

150 ml (1/4 pint) lamb or beef stock

fresh milk, to glaze

 

1. Put the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter and lard until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add enough cold water and mix in to form a firm dough. Knead lightly until smooth, and then chill until required.
2. Place half the lamb in the base of a 900 ml (1 1/2 pint) pie dish. Arrange half the apple slices and half the onion slices over the top. Sprinkle over the allspice and nutmeg and season to taste. Repeat the layers, and then pour over the stock.
3. Roll out the pastry to fit the dish and use to cover the pie, moistening the edges so the pastry is well sealed. Use any pastry trimming to decorate.
4. Brush the pastry with milk and bake at 200°C (400°F) mark 6 for 20 minutes.
5. Reduce the temperature to 180°C (350°F) mark 4 and cook for a further 1 hour 15 minutes.
6. Cover the pastry if it shows signs of becoming too brown. Serve hot.
    
   NB Can do a swede and potato mash topping.
   Source: http://www.allbritishfood.com/gloucestershire%20squab%20pie.php (accessed 03/03/2016)