The Cook Book by Tom Parker Bowles

Author:Tom Parker Bowles
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-09-13T04:00:00+00:00

Savouries

‘From the deeps of the Seven Seas to the eyries of the mountains, every remoteness is ransacked for quaint and stimulating novelties’

Savouries

Ah, the savoury, that bite-sized hit of piquant power, traditionally served after stolid pudding and before coquettish fruit. In short, the penultimate gasp of a truly civilised dinner. Scotch Woodcock and Welsh Rarebit, Devils and Angels on Horseback and Canapés Ivanhoe . . . who could resist their manifold charms? ‘Robustly and triumphantly British,’ exclaimed bon viveur polemicist P. Morton Shand. Sure, there’s always cheese. But the savoury is a course to adore.

Their role was as sop and stimulant. The Special Forces, if you like, of the evening meal, there to exterminate, with extreme prejudice, the last unsatisfied baddies of a trencherman’s greed. With all those manly, strident flavours, they were seen very much as a gentleman’s relish, far more at home in the wood- and waffle-panelled dining rooms of the old St James’s clubs than they were in the more genteel salons of the modern lady. ‘An admirable ending to a meal’, in the words of cookery writer Ambrose Heath (who devoted a whole tome, Good Savouries, to the topic), ‘like some unexpected witticism or amusing epigram at the close of a pleasant conversation’.

But although these grand, rather heavy dinners have their place, these days it’s all a bit of an effort. More important still, tastes have changed and our tender modern tummies (well, most of them) just wouldn’t, er, stomach it. But that doesn’t mean the savoury has to go the way of turtle soup. Hell no! These bold, brusque and vibrant flavours are timeless, with cheese, anchovy, cured pork and cayenne pepper all leading players in this delectable cavalcade. Toast, preferably thin, buttered and piping hot, was the base upon which all manner of gastronomic greatness could be balanced. Plus tartlets, croûtes, biscuits and puff pastry barquettes.

For me, one of the many joys of the savoury is that they’re welcome at any time of the day – mid-morning snack, light lunch, ballast for booze, easy supper, late-night nibble. Even, if your tastes are that way inclined, as a canapé. Devilled sardines, to name but one, are not only economical but taste wonderful too. Plus they can be put together with the most basic of store-cupboard ingredients – emergency fallbacks that don’t reek of desperation, giving the time-poor cook the vestige of old-school sophistication. Cheese on toast is one thing. Mix that cheese with a little beer, though, and let it bubble and seethe and brown, and the whole thing becomes Welsh Rarebit, a dish that Fortnum’s might not have invented. But one that they certainly perfected.

Okay, no one (save the ghost of Fanny Cradock) is going to whip up exotic vol-au-vents on a daily basis. These particular beauties are best saved for a slower, more rainy day. But don’t fear this rambunctious taste of days long past. I’m still stirred by the sight of a savoury, peeking out bravely after the assault of pudding. Treat them as endlessly adaptable, and the savoury moves from dinner delectation to anytime delight.

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