With all of this extra time at home, many of us are becoming professional chefs and expert bakers as we take to the kitchen to cook up new concoctions. Northumberland is home to many traditional eats and tipples – Craster Kippers, Lindisfarne Mead and Doddington Dairy Ice cream to name a few. Unfortunately, not all of them are accessible while the UK is in lockdown, but some of them can be cooked up in your own kitchen…
We have searched the web for classic, Northumbrian recipes, so you can put your skills to the test and get a taste of Northumberland from home. Cook up a storm with a cheesy potato dish, spongy stotties or a historical hot beverage with our foodie round-up:
1) Pan Haggerty
This crispy one-pan wonder is a potato dish with a little Northumbrian love sprinkled over it. Traditionally, it involves frying layers of potatoes, cheese and onions in butter and oil, then popping them under the grill until the cheese bubbles and turns golden. For a meaty variation, you can turn it into a Panhackerty by tossing in some salty bacon pieces or corned beef. We’ve trawled for the best recipe and we love the look of this one from Lavender and Lovage. It’s called ‘Nanny’s Pan Haggerty’ and it doesn’t get much more traditional than straight from a North Eastern nana’s kitchen. We tried this one ourselves, so check out our Instagram story and cook with us.
2) Stotty Cake/ Stotties
Despite its name, the stotty cake is actually a type of bread, and the chewy goodness has a similar consistency to sourdough. Like many Northumbrian recipes, it came from frugality – waste not want not – and the idea was that it could be made using any excess white bread dough. It was traditionally chucked into the bottom of the oven, reacting to the initial burst of heat and continuing to bake while the oven was cooling down. Once it’s cooled and ready to eat, you can enjoy it like a sandwich and fill it with Doddington Dairy cheese, thick slices of ham or whatever tickles your fancy. We stuck with Lavender and Lovage again for this Stotty Cake recipe – this one was actually a secret recipe discovered many years after her Grandmother’s passing, so it must be pretty special!
3) Singing Hinny
The word ‘hinny’ is a term of endearment up here in the North East, supposedly deriving from the word ‘honey’ and having a similar meaning to ‘darling’ or ‘dear’. What a lovely name, then, for this delicious, fruity bake, which gets the second part of its name from the sizzling noise that it makes on the griddle pan. Fairly similar to a scone, this light and fluffy concoction is filled with dried fruits and can be enjoyed lathered in butter or with a sprinkling of sugar over the top. We found a traditional recipe from The Spruce Eats so you can try them out for yourself at home.
4) Earl Grey Tea
There’s something extremely comforting about curling up on the sofa with a cuppa. Make your next brew a Northumbrian delicacy by filling your tea pot with Earl Grey. This fragrant beverage was originally made in Northumberland and named after Charles Grey, who received the tea blend from a Chinese mandarin as a gift, specially blended with bergamot to suit the water from the spring at Howick Hall. Lady Grey served it to guests, and it became so popular that British tea merchants requested permission to replicate it. Buy it in your next online shop, or if you want to be really Zen, make it yourself. We found this recipe from Mossy Meadow Farm, using loose leaf black tea and bergamot oil for the perfect homemade pot.
5) Pease Pudding
“Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold,
Pease pudding in the pot – nine days old.
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot – nine days old.”
You may have heard the old nursery rhyme, paying homage to the North East’s famous pease pudding. This comforting dish, with a thick and smooth consistency, is made from split yellow peas (hence its yellow appearance) and most often served with cooked ham, gammon or sausages. You can even enjoy it alongside fish and chips in place of good old mushy peas (another British delicacy for any non-British readers out there!). Or, spread it on a stotty with a salty joint of gammon for a truly traditional lunch and a fantastic burst of flavours. There are a number of recipes to choose from online, but we like the look of this one from The Spruce Eats.
Remember, leaving the house just isn't worth the whisk, so bake us proud by staying at home to stay safe, keep calm and carry on cooking.