Ploughman’s Lunch
The origins of a ploughman’s lunch are in dispute. Although considered a classic British dish, the name seems to have originated in a 1960s marketing campaign designed to increase cheese sales. However, what is indisputable is the fact that men and women laboring in the fields have turned to a simple lunch of bread and cheese for millennia. And that, essentially, is a ploughman’s lunch: bread, cheese, pickle, fruit, and a selection of salad vegetables. The cheese must be robust, the pickle tangy, and the bread crusty and preferably buttered. The ploughman’s is best washed down with a pint of bitter or a cup of strong tea.
See our video on preparing a ploughman’s lunch.
Ingredients
The staples:
- Few slices crusty bread
- Butter, at spreading consistency
- Dollop of Branston’s or other pickle
- Pickled onions and/or gherkins
- Several generous slices of cheese, e.g. mature Cheddar, double Gloucester, red Leicester, etc. It is optimal to have at least two varieties.
- Lettuce
- Tomato
Optional:
- Cucumber
- Radishes
- Green onion
- Ham or other lunchmeat
- Crisps
Instructions
- Arrange ingredients on plate while singing God Save the Queen.
© 2023 Copyright 2020, James Munton - www.gbcooking.com