Why Mary’s steamed up about saving the great British dumpling
FORGOTTEN favourites like stew with dumplings and prawn ≠≠≠cocktail should make a return to the British dinner table, Mary Berry says.
The former Great British Bake Off judge says she has no time for “gimmicky” food fads such as serving up meals on slate tiles or “fashionable” avocado on toast.
Instead, the no-nonsense queen of cakes wants to see a return to the fare of yesteryear and is championing the hearty suet dish.
She said: “There are a few dishes I’d love to make popular again. My first choice would be dumplings – they used to be huge!
“I’d do horseradish dumplings or herb dumplings. And people have forgotten about kedgeree, too, which I love. It’s very fashionable now to prepare avocado on toast. I can remember when we didn’t have them at all – now they’re everywhere.
“But this isn’t one of the nicest things to do with them. Better to add them to a prawn cocktail or to a little plate of smoked salmon or shrimps.
“And I love prawn cocktail – it’s so retro! Do it in a glass, with a little gem lettuce leaf. People used to laugh at prawn cocktail because it felt dated, but it’s coming back.”
Mary first appeared on TV in the 1970s but her popularity rocketed with Bake Off in 2010.
Unlike fellow judge Paul Hollywood, the mother of three refused to move when the show defected from the BBC to Channel 4.
She told the latest issue of Radio Times, on sale today: “I cook some of the dishes that I’ve always cooked, but I’ve changed the way I cook them. In the old days I would have used a big dollop of dripping to make a cottage pie but now I wouldn’t – it’s just extra fat.
“I just fry the meat in its natural fat and put a tiny bit of oil around the outside of the pan. I like making pies, but I used to put pastry on the base. I certainly don’t now – on top is enough for me.”
Of today’s new ingredients, she said: “We’re eating all sorts of quinoa and grains that we didn’t eat years ago – although I can’t do with too much brown rice – and it’s jolly nice to have so much fresh produce around. The other big
difference is that we have to ask about allergies.
“That never used to happen, you just cooked whatever you wanted to. You have to respect that people need different meals now.”
She added: “The way I cook might have changed but I present my food just like I used to. Serving food on slate tiles? Oh, no – that’s all very gimmicky.
“And I don’t like it when a plate is zigzagged with sauce across it or dropped in little blobs in circles. I like simple dishes and I’m not worried about things that seem old-fashioned. If it’s a lovely dish, why not make it?”
THE TV cook Mary Berry wants us to go back to old-fashioned favourites such as stew and dumplings, kedgeree and 1970s prawn cocktail. Whatever will the kale and quinoa lobby say about that?