Thai Chili Sauce and Treacle Tart

The best choice of food in Britain is at the supermarket?

This is the view from where I sit writing this. I’m sitting in a patch of shade, outside the cottage we’ve rented, a breeze blowing up from the Golden Valley.

The golden of the Golden Valley likely comes from the Normans misinterpreting the Welsh name of the river that flows through here. The Normans heard the word “dwir,” which means water in Welsh, and with some wishful thinking interpreted that as “d’or” (gold), as you might if you were French and not paying attention.

Today, however, the Valley is sear after weeks of heat and little rain. The temperature has soared into the high 90s. The green and pleasant land is stinking hot and the grass is straw-like.

Cooking this week has consisted of heating up ready-made foods from the supermarket, which sounds grim, but ain’t. British supermarkets like Waitrose and Sainsbury’s are more full of temptation than any I know in the U.S. The shelves are filled with ready-made food to go from all corners of the world, from a doorstop of an English steak and kidney pie to spicy chorizo and shrimp paella to a complete roast Peking duck meal with hoisin sauce, spring onions and pancakes. Vegans and vegetarians are also treated as first-class citizens.

Check out this simple idea, beautifully executed: a mixture of crunchy sugar snap peas, edamame, broad beans and peas, and a creamer-sized container of garlicky, spicy cilantro-chili dressing to pour over.

I have a refrigerator full of choices for dinner. (We haven’t been eating with my in-laws to keep the risk of passing Covid low, so we get home late and need something quick to prepare and eat.) There’s a cottage pie topped with “mature” cheddar mash and a beef lasagna made with bechamel. We’ve a hand-stretched pizza with prosciutto, mascarpone and mushrooms and an “Indian feast” that includes, lamb jalfrezi, Bombay potatoes, onion bhajia and yellow rice. Six minutes of quality time in the microwave and dinner is on the table (or if you’re slobbing it like us, on a plate in front of the telly. No judgements, please).

For those with more time, the oven-ready meals are even better: marinated pork roasts, the skin already scored and ready to turn to crackling; cauliflower cheese (more mature cheddar involved) with nary a stabilizer or ingredient you wouldn’t use yourself; or perhaps, you’d prefer a beef bourguignon with a brandy cream sauce?

Yes, actually, this raspberry and honeycomb gelato from Oakchurch Farm Shop was one of the best ice creams I ever had.

And the price on most of these items? In the range of four to five dollars. Can anyone tell me of a supermarket chain in the U.S. with similar quality and breadth of flavors at such a reasonable price? Fresh Direct, with it’s ready-made dinners come close, prices are at least double and it only serves a small portion of the east coast. Let me know what your supermarkets offer and what you grab when you just can’t cook.

In the meantime, try this vegetarian twist on a classic British Coronation Chicken recipe that I tasted at Bean and Bread, an adorable bake shop in Abergavenny, Wales, just over the border. This here version is made with chick peas.

I am off to see the in-laws now. More soon on the ready-to-eat desserts…

Eat something nice. Be kind to yourself and others.

m.