J is for Jacket Potato (and other common English food)

Now here's one I can really get behind...J is for Jacket Potato!  What's a jacket potato?  It's a baked potato, but an awesome one.  The UK has, like, a million kinds of potatoes (don't quote me on that), and they're all oddly suited for specific cooking methods...some are better for boiling, some for frying (like for "chips" (fries)), and others for mashing or baking.  So a jacket potato is the most delicious baked potato you've ever eaten, basically.  They can be topped with butter, or with sour cream, or with Coronation Chicken.

Let me back up for a moment...

People often complain (mostly tourists, I think) that the UK's food is bland, or doesn't have flavor, and I don't think that's accurate.  It's not as salty as American food, which is something my husband and I were thankful for, but I don't think it was ever lacking.

Coronation Chicken is a good example of a common dish with plenty of flavor. The recipe varies, and was created to blend Indian spices with British tastes for the Queen's coronation in the 1950s, and features tender chicken in a mayo/yogurt dressing with curry powder and often dried apricots or mangoes among other things.  It's served cold, sometimes on top of a jacket potato, and other times as a sandwich filling (my favorite way to eat it).

Apparently I don't take as may food pics as I thought...
Thanks, Internet!

Fish and chips are another common food.  You can find it at most restaurants and pubs, though some are definitely better than others.  The best version I had was at Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk, right on the seaside.  Fish and chips should never be greasy or heavy, and should be served with malt vinegar and/or tarter sauce.  A thick, firm whitefish is preferable--something like cod or haddock will do nicely.

Pies are always a win in my book, particularly steak and ale pie.  Pies in the UK are typically savory (think chicken pot pie) and a good one will have a crust you can't wait to eat with the rest of it (though the recipe I linked to above uses puff pastry). It will be filling and comforting, and come with extra gravy for your mashed potatoes, because you must have mash
ed potatoes with your pie (at least I do).

Mushy peas...  These little abominations are often found alongside your fish and chips or steak and ale pie.  I'm not a fan of peas, and these are just a whole wall of "nope" in my book.  I always opted for regular peas if possible, and it almost always was. Needless to say, I will not be linking to any mushy pea recipes.  There's even an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (a Thanksgiving one) where there's a mushy pea conversation...

Couldn't find a scone picture, so thanks, Internet!

Before this gets too long (you have other A-Z blogs to read, I imagine), you're missing out if you don't have a pot of tea with a scone and clotted cream and jam. The tea plus the scone is listed on the menu of most dining establishments as a "cream tea", so keep in mind that a cream tea is not tea with cream in it. Clotted cream, despite sounding like something rather gross, is one of the most amazing foods to come out of the UK (I have no idea where it originated, so again, don't quote me).  Spread on a nice, warm scone, and then topped with jam, it's heaven in your mouth.  Also, Americans somehow feel that scones need to be triangularly shaped pieces of bakery so dry that you could use one to sand your deck down.  I'm glad I was cured of this evil.  Google some proper UK recipes if you want a good scone. Just trust me on this.

Have you tried proper common UK food?  Thoughts?

Come on by for K tomorrow (and bring a scone if you have one...I'm hungry now)!

xoxo Sarah