Sean Connolly: Best of British

Sean Connolly goes back to his English roots with comfort food such as Slow-Roast Rib of Beef with Yorkshire Puddings. Photo / Michael Craig

Think English food is stodgy? The Grill’s Sean Connolly believes it should be regarded as food for the soul.

British food is a pioneering cuisine that has conquered the world. Historically, Britain was influenced by North America, China, Portugal and India while building the British Empire.

After World War II, it seems British food was dumbed-down for commercial and practical reasons and, although it was adequate, it became quite obvious you could cook better food at home than you could eat in your local restaurant. But in the past two decades, British food has seen a huge resurgence as Michelin-starred chefs put the love back into the Empire's food.

To be honest, if you use the best possible ingredients and cook them with care and passion, British food can be an intelligent, light and delicate cuisine.

Whichever way you look at it, the food we cook has history and a heritage that has been passed down from Grandmas, to mums and even mothers-in-law.

Legendary cooks and food ambassadors such as Mrs Beeton, Elizabeth David, Delia Smith and Fergus Henderson have been waving the Union Jack for decades.

They have heralded the joys of using every part of the animal and all sorts of fat, from suet and lard to beef dripping.

Suet is a little-known fat from cattle and sheep. It is a rich, creamy fat surrounding the kidneys and has a very high melting point. It's extremely robust and tasty in pastry. It is little known by the younger generation but I couldn't believe my eyes when I found a vegetarian equivalent which seems to work equally as well.

It's an essential component in many traditional puddings, dumplings, crusts, mince pie, sausage, haggis, and forcemeats and stuffings. It was used to create an air-tight seal for potted meats and preserves.

For me, nothing brings memories flooding back like Lyle's Golden Syrup, a sweet and sticky luxury that is the nectar of the gods, in my opinion.

Yorkshire puddings are an edible pastry chalice that hold the luscious meaty goodness of its ever-accompanying condiment - gravy. Yorkshire myth has it that puddings were served to fill the plates of the poor but now they grace the tables of some of the best restaurants in town.

Suet dumplings descend from the heavens as warm, salty, savoury pillows of joy that can bring tears to my eyes. They float in a sea of slow-cooked broth and ever-so-tender, cooked-to-an-inch-of-its-life lamb. I do believe there is no other texture like it.

Mushy peas are the modern take on the dried peas phenomenon (blue boilers), and while they make me equally joyous, I take a quicker option of garden peas and mint, boiled and pulsed in a food processor. This turns out a little bit chunky and a little bit nutty with a herbaceous hint of mint that is just delightful - the perfect complement to the crisp and crunchy batter.

Cooking food in animal fat can bring a whole dimension to a dish, perfectly exemplified by duck-fat fish and chips. As a boy growing up in Yorkshire, I remember the smell of beef dripping and warm newspaper - these days, the original British street food graces the tables of some of best restaurants in the country.

Recipes

• Slow-roast rib of beef with yorkshire puddings
• Tripe and onions
• Duck fat fish and chips and mushy peas
• Treacle steamed pudding with custard

• The Grill by Sean Connolly, 90 Federal St, Auckland, ph (09) 363 7067, skycityauckland.co.nz

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