…Shakespeare would never have written all those plays on an empty stomach - so British food can’t really be that bad. Let’s face it. You probably didn’t come all the way from your country to try British food. People travel to Italy or France to try their famous dishes but Britain is not one of the countries people visit to experience culinary wonders. You probably heard that British food is bland and that all British people eat are potatoes. It’s not all true. British food can be and is good or even great!! It can confuse you, I must admit. Things like pies. You can never be sure whether if you order a pie, you’re going to end up with a sweet or savory dish. And all the strange names the British have for some of the dishes. How did they come up with names like ‘Toad in a hole’ (Sausages baked in batter), ‘Bubble and Squeak’ shallow fried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner), ‘Welsh Rarebit’ (Cheese sauce on toast), ‘Jam Roly-Poly (Sweet dessert with jam)’, ‘Bangers and Mash’ (Sausages with mashed potatoes), Treacle Tart or Trifle. But once you get to know what they are, you will love them. There are some great British recipes and when done right, it can actually make you forget about the weather! For example nice Fish and Chips, Fish pie, Sunday Roast, Traditional English Breakfast, Bakewell tart or Apple crumble with custard! Something you definitely have to try. Here is a recipe for one of my favourite British dishes that is really simple and easy to make.

Apple Crumble

Ingredients
Crumble:
300g/10½oz plain flour, sieved pinch of salt
175g/6oz unrefined brown sugar
200g/7oz unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature
Knob of butter for greasing

Filling:
450g/1lb apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm/½in piece
50g/2oz unrefined brown sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 pinch of ground cinnamon

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Place the fruit in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir well being careful not to break up the fruit.
3. Butter a 24cm/9in ovenproof dish. Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.
4. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture bubbling.
5. Serve with thick cream or custard.