#shepherds-pie

#shepherds-pie

George Harrison's Dark Horse Lentil Soup recipe features ingredients such as 1 red chili, cumin seeds, onions, garlic, lentils, tomatoes, and green peppers, showcasing his love for Indian cuisine.

Maine is known for its fresh seafood, specifically lobster, and has many other foods native to its culinary culture that are unbreakably tied to the state.

Oudh 1722 is set to be as sensational as its bigger sibling up in Birmingham, but with a unique focus on the Awadhi cuisine of northern India.

Scotch eggs are a pub food delicacy - a soft-boiled egg wrapped in a thin layer of sausage, coated in breadcrumbs, and then deep fried until crisp and delicious, ideally with a yolk in the center that is still runny. They are as heavy in the hand as they sit in the belly, a classic British dish that sticks to the ribs and girds one against the cold grey drizzle.

Jamie Oliver's last meal would be one of his mother's roast dinners, featuring a chunk of beef or lamb or chicken, with all the trimmings and homemade sauces.

This family favorite is as simple as it's iconic - sponge cake rolled over vanilla ice cream, with a layer of raspberry jam between the two. Think Swiss roll, but from the frozen aisle. The dessert became so popular that more than 25 miles of Arctic Roll were sold per month during the 1980s.

Nitrites are generally used as a preservative in bacon and other processed foods, and the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency published a report last fall on the health risks of consuming nitrites. As Dr. James Cooper, the agency's Deputy Director of Food Policy, stated, '[W]hile nitrates and nitrites can form compounds called nitrosamines, many of which are carcinogenic, the link to serious health problems like cancer in humans remains inconclusive.'

Irish desserts are, in one word, resourceful. They have to be; in a nation that grappled for centuries with conflict, famine, and outright war, luxurious ingredients were not accessible to most people. Instead, the Irish turned to local ingredients like sea moss, apples, and an impressive array of dairy products to satisfy their cravings for something sweet.

The modern origins of both beer and wine are rooted in Europe, which is home to a north-south division often referred to as the "beer-wine divide" that splits the continent into two. There's the Wine Belt in the south and the Beer Belt in the north. This is primarily due to their respective climates, with the Mediterranean climate of southern Europe being ideal for growing grapes and the cooler climate of northern Europe better suited toward producing beer.

Fish and chips is about as iconic as you can get for pub fare. It's a perfect harmony of tender, subtly sweet and briny cod with a crisp, buttery coating; plus, salty, starchy fries. The only thing a classic fish and chips meal is missing is a good beer. After all, it's a standard order in pubs, where many guests are already enjoying pints - and that's not to mention that many chefs actually batter the fish in beer.

Several photographers, entrepreneurs, sportspeople and musicians lived in the area Eric Clapton's house was just around the corner. Although I never quite got over answering the phone to someone asking for Mick and I made the mistake of asking Mick who? The champagne lock-ins were legendary but not limited to the rich and famous. Plumbers and painters and the local bobby shared the bar with industrialists and faces.

There is an art to a proper meat pie, according to the Seattle chef and butcher Kevin Smith. The American pot pie frustrates him because it lets the pot do the heavy lifting. "The real way of doing it, for me, is to make a freestanding pie," Smith says. The pastry should hold itself up, a technique cooks in England have honed over centuries. "That is so much more theatrical."

The pavement along Barking Road in Plaistow is a blur through the front windows and deserted, and there are only two customers in the shop. Another sign this one on the counter says CASH ONLY. Card machine companies often tell proprietor Nathan Jacobi that he's missing out by not catering to customers who favour cashless transactions. They're the ones missing out, he says. Cos they ain't getting pie and mash.

Its origins lie in the county's mining past, where it was devised as a complete, portable meal. The crimp acted as a handle, and some pasties were even made with different fillings at each end, offering both savoury and sweet in a single bake. Debate over the perfect pasty remains lively, but the classic combination of beef, potato, onion and swede is still the benchmark, and for many, still the one to beat.

Clootie dumpling is, let's face it, a much better name than spotted dick, but if you were fond of the latter at school, you'll probably enjoy this very similar, classic Scottish steamed pudding. Not too sweet and, thanks to the apple and carrot, lighter than it sounds, this is a proper winter dessert and the perfect end to a Burns supper, especially when served with custard or ice-cream.

Digging into a perfect slice with a side of horseradish and au jus is quite the indulgence; however, once the feasting is over, you might be wondering what to do with your leftovers. Take an indulgent prime rib and transform it into the ultimate comfort food by adding it as a filling to your next pot pie. This is a great way to prevent food waste and change up the serving style for your prime rib to give it a bit of a refresh.

A shoulder of lamb is one of my favourite cuts; you, or a friendly butcher, will need to trim away its excess fat, a job that will reward you with an exquisite flavour that marries beautifully with bold spicing. Here, we travel to Morocco, with sweetly aromatic ginger, turmeric and cinnamon, and follow that with cardamom, cream and rhubarb for pudding.

The star of the show, the meatballs, get seasoned with a mix of crumbled feta, smoked paprika, and cumin, resulting in a tender, flavorful meatball that tastes far more complex than its trim ingredient list might suggest. The rice underneath is just as fun. Speckled with salty pistachios and plump golden raisins, and perfumed by a cardamom pod and a stray cinnamon stick, it strikes the ideal ratio of salty to sweet, contrasting with the savory meatballs.

Parsnips' signature sweet, nutty flavor comes from their cold-weather cultivation. That subterranean freeze is what converts the roots' starches into sugars as the veggie grows underground. This is also why spring-harvested parsnips tend to be sweetest, although parsnips can be harvested during the fall and winter months, too. Fall- and winter-harvested parsnips feature a firmer texture and earthier, subtly bitter tasting profile.

For those of us that grew up with Boomers as parents, the quality of dinners isn't always looked back on fondly. Coming of age in the time of the microwave and Hamburger Helper, then becoming parents during the backlash against fat and salt, Boomers developed cooking habits that blended boxed and frozen convenience foods alongside sides of steamed or boiled (and usually) unseasoned vegetables to make sure it was "healthy."

When a friend mentioned that she serves chili over noodles, I was intrigued. We always serve our chili straight up with cornbread or tortilla chips on the side, but I had to try this new way, and the results were what inspired this chili mac from my cookbook "Mostly Veggies." Is it chili? Is it mac and cheese? It's the best of both worlds, and it's surprisingly healthy and packed with veggies!