Have you ever been to one of those dreadful Medieval Banquets? A few years ago, a friend invited me to one held in her castle in Shropshire. My little sister came too. You had to go in fancy dress- my sister went as a fayre damsel in distress, I went as the Pope. On the way to the revels, we passed several cars full of Wee Willie Winkies, Robin Hoods, living suits of armour, and bizarrely, some young shaver dressed in a gorilla suit. As you might have expected, the genteel banquet degenerated into a food fight, and one by one, the 'guests' were dragged up to the High Table by a jester in a pair of skin hugging tights, to suffer tiresome ordeals 'by bow or by blade'.
But what almost saved the day, was a particularly good joint of rare Roast Beef. I miss the days when every Sunday, any British family worth its salt would happily tuck into the Merrie Beef of Olde England, Yorkshire Pudding, gravy and horseradish sauce.
I'm not going to tell you how to roast beef (the secret is to undercook it), but I am going to tell you how to make Yorkshire Pudding. Like the best British Food, Yorkshire Pudding originally came from overseas, apparently brought back from the Middle East during the Crusades. I suppose, in a way, it's also similar to Italian polenta.
First, you need to make a batter. Mix up two eggs, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Next, whisk in some sifted plain flour, and slowly pour in some milk. Try and get your batter to be creamy and smooth. In the meantime, get hold of one of those Yorkshire Pudding trays with circular shaped moulds (if you're not English, you're going to have to stock up next time you're over here). Brush the tray with sunflower oil to stop the puddings sticking to the tray. Heat it in an oven set to about 220 C.
The secret is to get the oven very, very hot, and make sure the oven has been adequately pre-heated before you slide your pudding tray inside. Pour the batter into each mould, but make sure you only fill it to about three-quarters full. Put the tray back in the oven. With luck, after about ten minutes your puddings should have risen, and will be crispy and light. With luck...with luck.
