The street parties are all over bar sad bits of bunting strewn from the lampposts and I hope all those folks made it back home from Windsor. This week we all must fancy some honest proper food before the next Bank Holiday with fine weather – surely the end of the world is near, two Bank Holiday weekends and not a drop of rain? – will bring another batch of burnt sausages and charcoaled drumsticks.
And nothing could be more honest than a proper ragu Bolognese cooked from scratch, it’s a joy to cook – cooks itself – and a bigger joy to eat. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never go anywhere near the jarred, tinned or plastic tray-ed spag bol. Swap meat for mushrooms if you so prefer and cook the mushroom ragu which almost beats the meat sauce.
Roast chicken is another thoroughly honest dish – with potatoes roasting underneath the bird, rotisserie-style. Any remaining meat should make excellent chicken enchiladas: sometimes it’s hard to say what’s better, the original dish or the leftovers.
Pork katsu is the Japanese interpretation of a schnitzel: breaded pork chop with spicy sauce, with leek slaw perhaps, doesn’t it sound good? And before you complain that I’m only suggesting effortful, elaborate dishes this week, here’s super-quick vegetarian chili; tinned beans, tinned tomatoes, zero fuss.
Fine weather on the coming Bank Holiday must mean Pimms, the grown-up version (yes I know, but mine is really GROWN-UP). Or maybe you’ll be serving strawberry fizz? And if you’d rather put strawberries on a dessert than in a tipple, angel food cake is the best company for a pile of berries and some cream.