The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook (37 page)

For a stronger flavor, try substituting pig kidneys for lamb kidneys. While both provide a tender cut, the lamb kidney has a much more subtle flavor than the pig kidney. This perhaps explains why today lamb kidneys are the most readily available type of kidney to purchase.

A popular breakfast dish imported from Northern Europe, this would be a common meal offered to the staff of Downton Abbey. Porridge was also a popular prison food, so dear Mr. Bates would likely eat this while awaiting trial for the murder of his wife.

1 cup rolled oats

2
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cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

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cup raisins

2 bananas, sliced

2 teaspoons cinnamon

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teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 teaspoons honey (optional)

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cup cold milk (optional)

1. In a saucepan, combine the rolled oats, water, salt, raisins, bananas, cinnamon, and vanilla.
   
2. Bring to a brief boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed, stirring frequently.
   
3. Add both sugars. Pour into bowls, then top each with milk and honey.
   

While this porridge might not appear something for which the staff of Downton would give hearty thanks, in London during the Edwardian period, out-of-work families spent as little as a penny per day per person on food, resulting in a greatly shortened lifespan. However, this led to a lowered birthrate, which helped women, who began to experience improved health as a direct result of a reduction in family size.

While perhaps foreign to many American palates, beef tongue was a popular breakfast (or even lunch) dish for the Victorian and Edwardian English. It’s likely that many of the Downton Abbey staff felt they would swallow their own tongues in their attempts to stay silent at some of the gross misbehavior of their employers. Boiled beef tongue is a very lean and very fine-grained meat, thus making it not just extremely tender, but very nutritious.

1 fresh beef tongue

2 medium onions, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

4 sprigs parsley

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cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1. In a medium-sized pot, add beef tongue, vegetables, and parsley. Cover ingredients with water. Boil uncovered for 3
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   –4 hours.
   
2. Remove tongue from pot; don’t worry if it appears discolored. Remove the skin from tongue, slicing the skin lengthwise and peeling it back. Though you shouldn’t find any gristle or small bones, if you do, remove them as well.
   
3. Slice tongue. Serve cooled with mustard and capers.
   

Before the British discovered the joy of beef tongue, the Paleolithic hunters sought it out — along with its fatty counterparts such as trotters (feet), brains, or marrow. Although tongue is mainly a dish served to the middle and lower classes, even the upper class would have enjoyed this delight.

No full English breakfast is complete without baked beans in tomato sauce served on toast! It’s easy to imagine Mr. Bates or Mr. Carson slathering these beans on a piece of bread before hurrying to help their masters. Baked beans on toast continued to be a European breakfast staple over the years and is still enjoyed today.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 teaspoon honey

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cup tomato paste

1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt

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teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 loaf sourdough bread, sliced and toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 4-quart ovenproof dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions, stirring often, until they begin to brown. Using a wooden spoon, scrape any browned onion bits from side of pot.
   
2. Add garlic, rosemary, and chili flakes, and let cook for 2 minutes. Mix in brown sugar, honey, and tomato paste, stirring thoroughly to combine. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken stock, followed by salt and pepper.
   
3. Stir in beans. Cover pot and cook in oven for 1 hour or until beans are softened to desired consistency. Serve over toast.
   

While this recipe requires you to make your own beans, most English folk would make breakfast easy on themselves by using a can of Heinz Baked Beans or Branston Baked Beans. Heinz Baked Beans were originally made with pork, a practice that stopped due to rationing during World War II. Nonetheless, during
Downton Abbey
’s time, canned beans, while likely acceptable for the staff to eat, would not be chosen over Mrs. Patmore’s own special recipe.

Also known as Blood Pudding, this British dish — traditionally consisting of pork blood, oatmeal, and sometimes onions — would normally be served for breakfast but could also be offered at lunch or even dinner. It’s not hard to imagine the spiteful O’Brien (who perhaps has more of a heart than she’s willing to let on) enjoying this dish as she harbors ill-will toward the Countess of Grantham… feelings that would eventually vanish after the horrible accident with the misplaced soap.

4 cups fresh pork blood

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup whole milk

2 large onions, chopped

12 ounces suet, shredded

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cup oatmeal