The Brook Pub - Best Selling British Food

 We all know that the British people love their food very much. They tend to cook with their heart out using healthy meat and vegetables. Though they are not into many spices before they tend to change with time and incorporate some spices of their own changing the dish from bland to much more. Meat is mostly eaten in Britain when compared to vegetables as they have the finest of produce in the market. There are many popular dishes like Fish and Chips, Yorkshire Pudding, English Breakfast, Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes etc. One vegetable that is much used in cooking along with the meat is the potatoes. They tend to roast or boil the potatoes and then mash them.

The name Roasted Chicken itself tells us that it is prepared on a hot fire. In old times the chicken was marinated with spices and herbs before it was attached to a spit and hand-turned. Most of us don’t follow that method anymore and cook in a more convenient way, that is in the Oven. So technically we can call it baked meat rather than roasted ones. Most of them choose the male chicks over the females as they are required to lay eggs. The original recipe was from France during the Medieval period during the 12th century. It was first made as a stew and later started to roast the meat using spit skewers.

Let's check out the way to cook some of the Best Selling British Food:

Roasted Chicken:

A roasted chicken is everyone's favourite and can be enjoyed any time of the day. To pair it with a glass of wine or chilled beer saves the day. The ingredients that we need for this recipe are roughly chopped onion, roughly chopped carrots, 1 chicken about 1.5 kg/3lb 5oz, lemon sliced, small bunch of thyme and soft butter. For making the gravy we need chicken stock and 1 tbsp plain flour. Preheat the oven to 190C/fan, 170C/gas. Make a shelf ready and do not place any shelves above it. Take a roasting tin, scatter the onions and carrots over the base. Place the whole chicken and season the cavity with salt and pepper, stuff it with two lemon halves, and a small bunch of thyme. Apply butter on the outer skin and season it with salt and pepper. Place it in the oven for 1 hr 20 mins till a perfectly roasted chicken is done. 

Once it is cooked take out the chicken leaving all the juices in the roasting tin to prepare the gravy. While the chicken is resting we can prepare the gravy by placing the roasting tin on low flame, then stir in 1 tbsp of flour until lightly brown, then add the chicken stock, a little salt, stirring all the time until the sauce is thickened. Once the gravy is cooked remove it into a serving dish which can be poured on the chicken for some extra juices.

Chicken Caesar Salad:

A salad that is most loved by people all over the world as comfort food. The salad was named Caesar as it was invented by an Italian man named Caesar Cardini. It was invented in the late 1920s which is loved even till today. 

The original recipe has only six elements and they are full stalks of lettuce, raw egg, olive oil, croutons, parmesan cheese and Worcestershire sauce.

 Many changes have been made to this recipe adding some extra ingredients. The ingredients needed for this salad are 4 thick slices of white bread, olive oil, skinless, boneless chicken breasts and lettuce. For the dressing, we need 1 garlic clove, 2 anchovies from a tin, medium block parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and white wine vinegar. Cut the bread into pieces and add salt and fry them in a pan or bake them for 8-10 mins turning till they are brown. Take the chicken breast and rub it with salt and olive oil. Fry the chicken in a pan for 4 mins on each side. For the sauce, crush one garlic clove, mix the mash of 1 anchovy, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar and salt for taste. Place the lettuce in a large bowl, pull the chicken into bite-size strips and scatter over the leaves, then add the croutons. Now pour the dressing as much as you like and toss it with your fingers. Then sprinkle the parmesan on top and all set to eat.

Traditional British Sunday Roast:

A Sunday Roast is often cooked and served on Sunday’s. It first originated in Britain as a meal that was eaten after Church. People such as  Roman Catholics and Anglicans would fast on Sunday’s before the services and later break the fast with a large meal. The other reason is most of them ate meat only on Sundays and the other days ate vegetables and fish. It is made from meat and potatoes served with accompaniments such as stuffing, gravy, Yorkshire pudding and condiments like apple sauce, mint sauce, redcurrant jelly etc. Potatoes are most commonly used when one thinks of roasted meat but we can use many more vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, peas and parsnips. These can be steamed or boiled or roasted along with the meat and potatoes.

Sunday Roast holds a special place in the British culture and the meal is compared to that of Christmas dinner. There are other names for this dish such as Sunday Lunch, Sunday Dinner, Roast dinner and Full roast. The type of meat used for cooking a Sunday Roast is chickens, lamb, pork or beef. During the season duck meat, turkey and other birds may be used. The potatoes can be cooked along with the meat to absorb all the juices and the flavours or it can be cooked separately with the Yorkshire pudding in a hotter oven. 

No matter what meat you use and the vegetables, the flavour of the dish is always spectacular. Even today in most of the pubs in Britain a special Sunday menu that features a Sunday roast will be there. 

So many dishes to taste when you're in Britain and what more than visiting our Brook pub where you can choose the best dishes and enjoy. This place is even loved by kids and the younger generation as they have their own menu to choose from. We know what kids want and tend to prepare the dishes accordingly. Apart from the above dishes we also serve Italian and Indian according to the spice levels of the customer. Our opening hours are from Sunday - Thursday: 12 - 11 pm and Friday - Saturday: 12 pm to Midnight. Kitchen hours are from Monday - Saturday: 12pm to 10 pm and Sunday: 12pm to 9pm. 

We also serve various drinks starting from Beers to Wines, Whisky, Gin, Rum and Cask Ales. Local customers like to hang out here to enjoy the Euro football match in our wide T.V screens placed all over the premises. This gives them more joy to shout out and support their teams. Those who are not much into T.V can play games and we are also planning to incorporate many more events in the coming months. Just check out our social media account for more updates.

Our staff understands what our customers need and their food is prepared according to their spice levels like less hot, medium hot or spicy. Our spices are prepared at home and all the sauces too. We use fresh local ingredients and produce everyday to place the Best Dish on the table. So, if you love to try out some of our awesome food and drinks do come into the Brook Pub in Cambridge and give us the chance to serve you.