journal of the churchill center and societies - Winston Churchill

Recipes From No. 10: Vegetables
by Georgina Landemare, Churchill family cook, 1940s-1950s
Updated and annotated ror the modern kitchen
by Barbara Langworth (h_langworth@conknet.com)
All recipes nave ceen pre-tested and pronounced editle by tne editors.
cupful of cream, a little finely
chopped shallot and pepper. Add
the beans to this and continue
cooking until tender.
"Mi
''rs. Churchill knew, '...ifyou want to keep
1 Winston happy the first thing is to feed him
. well. He must have a good dinner. It is essential
to his happiness.' This embraced everything from his
breakfast of eggs and bacon, cold cuts or fresh salmon followed
by toast and black cherry jam, coffee or a glass of white wine,
ending with a cup of cold consomme before retiring. To the
last he loved his roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. On a certain
occasion one of his clubs served his favorite meal beginning
with petite marmite followed by filet of sole wrapped in
smoked Scottish salmon smothered in tiny shrimp. Next a
roast deer stuffed with pdte and truffles. The dessert was a
pudding"
—The Irrepressible Churchill, by Kay Halle.
VEGETABLES
Like many British households, Mrs. Landemare's
kitchen kept a cookery book from the quintessential Mrs.
Beeton. The pictures are from my ca.1930 copy of Mrs
Beeton's Family Cookery and the recipes are, as usual, from
Mrs. Landemare. BFL
• French beans: Wash, top and tail the beans and
place in boiling salted water, cook for five minutes.
Melt a good lump of butter in a saucepan, add a
• Petits Pois a la Francaise: Shell
the peas and put into a saucepan
with 11/2 oz. butter, 1 Tb sugar,
and a cup of water to every quart
of shelled peas. Put a small bouquet
of parsley, salt and pepper
and a little more butter. Peel a
dozen small onions, add to the
peas and allow to cook slowly for one hour. Remove the
parsley before serving.
• Artichauts Hollandaise: Trim off the points of
the artichoke leaves. Cook for 1/2 hour in salted boiling
water and serve with Hollandaise sauce.*
• Carrots: Cut the carrots into small shapes and
cook in a very little water to which a pinch of salt has
been added. Add about 1 oz. of butter and allow to cook
slowly until nearly all the liquor is absorbed, then add a
little cream and chopped parsley.
*Modern Hollandaise recipes are much easier than
Mrs. Landemare's but if you'd like to try hers, here it is:
4 egg yolks, 4 oz melted butter, juice of 1 lemon, 3
Tb vinegar, 4 crushed peppercorns, 1 Tb cold water.
Reduce the vinegar in a saucepan with the peppercorns.
Remove from heat. Gradually stir in the yolks of
eggs and half the quantity of melted butter, lemon juice,
cold water, salt. Whisk vigorously until the mixture
thickens, then add the remainder of the butter. This
sauce must not be boiled and requires an even heat all
through the cooking. $
FINEST HOUR 108/49