Traditional Cheshire Food

Cheshire lies in the West of England on the borders with Wales and was Welsh at one time.

Hannah Glasse's Cheshire Pork Pie

Use a large piece of pork, and  cut it into steaks.  Season it with salt and pepper, make a good crust, layer it alternatively with pork and apples,  put in half-a-pint of white wine, dot with butter on the top, and put a top crust on .

 " If your pie be large it will take a pint of white wine." 

Crumbles are almost always sweet ones but a savoury crumble gives good texture to a casserole.

Cheshire Cheese and Asparagus Charlotte

Ingredients
 • 4 Slices of buttered bread
 • 298 g 10oz  fresh Cheshire asparagus spears, cooked
 • 175 g ( 5 oz) Cheshire cheese
 • 2 large eggs
 • 568 ml (1 pint) milk
 • Salt and black pepper

Method

Cut the crusts from the buttered bread
Place a layer of bread in a buttered dish . Layer with asparagus spears and half the grated cheese. Cover with remaining bread and cheese and season.
Beat together the eggs and milk  . Pour over the bread in the dish and leave to stand for 15 minutes. Top with grated cheese cheese and rolled oats and bake 180°C (375°F) or Gas 4/ 5 for about 50 minutes or until set .
..............................................................................................................................................................

Cheshire Lamb Crumble

1 lb minced lamb
 1 medium onion,
 1 tbsp  tomato puree
 1/2 pt  veg stock or water
 salt and black pepper
 2 oz hard margarine
4 oz flour
 2 oz  Cheshire cheese, crumbled

2 ozs rolled oats

Cook the minced lamb with onions in the stock  for about 15 mins .
Transfer to an oven proof dish
Rub the fat, flour and seasoning together to make a crumble topping.  Add crumbled cheshire cheese and oats for texture.
Cover the meat mixture with crumble topping and bake for about 30 mins 180 C gas 4/ 5

..............................................................................................................................................................

Chester Pork Pye
 

A 12-oz pack of shortcrust pastry
 2 pounds lean, minced pork
 4 apples, sliced and cored
 1 stick butter
 2 rashers bacon
 1-1/4 cups dry white wine 1 teaspoon dried sage, or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped sage
 1 egg to glaze
 salt, pepper and nutmeg

1.Roll out the pastry and line a 7 inch pie dish, or I usually use a casserole dish, roll out enough pastry to make the lid too.
2.Mix together the pork and bacon in a bowl and season with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and sage.
3.Arrange a layer of pork in the bottom of the dish, then a layer of apple and continue until the dish is full.
4.Pour in the white wine and put  butter on top
5.Put the pie lid on top and make a slit in the pastry. Glaze with a little egg.
6.Bake in the oven at 425°F, 220°C, gas mark 7 for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F, 190°C, gas mark 5 and bake for a further 45 minutes.

Cheshire potted pigeon

3 pigeons
seasoning
melted butter

Clean pigeons
Boil in a pan until the meat leaves the bones
Mince the meat finely
Season and moisten with stock
Press into pots and cover with melted butter to seal .

..............................................................................................................................................................

 Cheshire Cheese and Swede bake

1 ozs plain flour
seasoning to taste
1 lb diced swede , 
2 oz margarine or butter
6oz Cheshire cheese, crumbled
1 pt milk

Coat the diced swede in the chosen seasoning and flour
Place alternate layers of swede and crumbled cheese in a dish dot with marg or butter and cover with cream
Cover with foil
Bake for 75- mins on 160C gas 3/4

..............................................................................................................................................................

Chester Steamed Pudding   ( the traditional recipe ; there are two recipes )

4oz SR  flour
4 oz Suet
2oz Caster sugar
4 oz  Fresh breadcrumbs
4 oz  Blackcurrant jam
6 Tablespoon Milk

10 fl oz water  Cold water
6 tbsp Blackcurrant jam
4 oz  Sugar

Mix the breadcrumbs, flour, suet and sugar .Make a well in the centre and add the jam. Warm the milk.   Pour over the mixture and mix .

Transfer the mixture to a greased pudding basin then cover and tie with string. Cover the bowl with foil and steam for 3 hours 
Boil up the jam , water and sugar for a sauce.

..............................................................................................................................................................

Cheshire Apple Shortbread  ( any fruit can be used )

4 medium size Cheshire cooking apples
4 oz caster sugar
squeeze of lemon juice

10 oz flour
7 oz unsalted butter
3 oz icing sugar

Peel and slice the apples and layer in a dish covered with caster sugar and lemon juice

Beat butter and icing sugar together and add flour

Gather together in a plastic bag and press the mixture out inside the bag to fit the top of the dish.
Cut the plastic  bag and ease the shortbread out and lay it top of the apples.

This was invented by me, here in Cheadle Hulme,  Cheshire in my own kitchen. TODAY. My family loved it.

Cheadle Hulme Lemon and Almond Tart

Short crust pastry to line about an 8 in diameter pie dish

1 jar of lemon curd

Filling

4 oz soft butter

4 oz  fine castor sugar

3 eggs

2 tsps. almond essence

6 ozs rolled oats

Method

Roll out the pastry and chill the pastry base in the freezer for a few minutes .

Remove from freezer and spread the lemon curd on the base

Meanwhile mix the ingredients together in a mixer and  then pour into the pie case on top of the lemon curd.

Bake in the middle of the oven on 180C for about 35 minutes

Serve hot or cold.

Parkin is traditionally eaten around the end of October / start of November - Halloween Fireworks night . Mine has JUST come out of the oven and the house smells of ginger and treacle.

It keeps for a few days . 

Cheshire Parkin 

 8oz of oats  ( mixed rolled and ground )
 4oz  of self-raising flour
 3 oz brown sugar
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
I chopped piece of crystalised ginger 
2 tbsp of  black treacle or golden syrup
6oz  of  butter 
4 fl ozs milk

2 beaten eggs

Method 

Beat all the ingredients together in a mixer and pour into a 10 inch by 5 in  baking tray. 

Cover with some baking paper . 

Cook on Elec 170 C   325 F OR gas 3  for about 45 min.

Use a skewer to see if it is cooked through. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.