The Week UK - 04.04.2020

37

4April 2020 THE WEEK

Food & Drink

LEISURE

Digforvictoryoverthevirus
WhenIstartedTimLang’snewbook
FeedingBritain,itstruckmeas“alarmist
andoff-beam”,saysSimonJenkinsin
TheSundayTimes.Notsomuchnow.In
it,thefarmer-turned-academicwarnsthat
weareriskingacrisisoffoodinsecurity,
andurgesBritaintoreverttoawartime
siegeeconomyforfood.It’scrazy,he
argues,thatwe’rereliantonimportsfor
halfofoursupplies–including87%of
fruitandvegetables–thearrivalofwhich
dependson“hyper-fragile”transnational
distributionsystems.Thedecliningquality
ofourfoodisanotherproblem–asisthe
amountwewaste.Facedwithallmanner
ofthreats,from“cyberaggression”to
disease,wemust,hesays,startdigging
forvictory.Afewweeksago,theideaof
sendingBritainbacktothe 19 40sseemed
abitpreposterous.Buttheimpactofthe
coronavirus–onretailers,supplychains
andfarmers(whowarnedlastweekthat
owingtoquarantining,they’llstruggleto
gettheharvestin)–hasputadifferent
complexiononthings.Lang’sbookisnot
flawless:itsuffersfrom“boutsofacute
thinktank-itis.Butitisrichinideasand
astonishinglytimely.FeedingBritain:
OurFoodProblemsandHowtoFix
Them,Pelican£25.

Onionsarenottheonlyvegetable
Withpeoplestockinguponessentials,
onionshavebecomehardtogetholdof.
Butdonotdespair:somewellknownchefs
haverecommendedwaysofdoingwithout,
saidBobGranleeseinTheGuardian.For
recipesthatkickoffwithsoftenedonions,

tobringbodyandsweetness,youcan

“bridgethegapwithchoppedcelery,

fennelorbellpepper”,saidJacobKenedy

(ofBoccaDiLupo).“Andalittlesugar,

forthatsweethit.”Forbrownedonions,

whichaddsavourycomplexity,tryalittle

anchovy,gingerorcumin.Thereisnothing

thatreplicatesonionexactly,saidchef

MerlinLabron-Johnson.Butceleryand

celeriacbothadd“bodyanddepth”to

soupsandstews.Celery’s“subtle,earthy

perfume”goeswithallsorts–meat,fish

andothervegetablestoo–makingitvery

versatile.Forvegetable-baseddishes,

KaramSethi(ofGymkhana)suggestsa

combinationoftomato,gingerand

corianderseeds;andinmeatmarinades,

gingerpowderandfreshcoriander:“Use

thestalksandroots,too,forpity’ssake–

they’reabsolutelypackedwithflavour.”

Thejoyoftins

Weturntotinnedfoodinacrisis–andthe

conceptwasbornofone,saysMichael

OdellinTheTimes.In1 (^80) 0,Napoleon
putupaprizeforanyonewhocouldfinda
newwayofpreservingfoodforhissoldiers
marchingonRussia.Thewinnerwas
NicolasAppert,whomanagedtogeta
“wholesheepintoaglassjar,cookitand
sealitwithacorkstopper”.Tenyears
lateraBritishmerchant,PeterDurand,
adaptedtheidea,squeezing30lbsofmeat
intoametalcontaine r,whichhesealed
withcement.Today,tinnedfoodis
vacuum-sealedandheatedtodestroythe
potentiallylethalClostridiumbotulinum
bacterium.Water-solublevitaminsCand
B1canbelostinthisprocess,butthefat-
solubleA,D,EandKsurvivewell.And
tinnedtomatoes,forexample,areactually
higherthanfreshintheantioxidantlyco-
pene.Mytoptinnedtip:chickpeacurry.
Alcoholanxiety
Arushonwinehasleftsupermarketstocks
lowinsomeplaces–buttheGovernment
bowedtoindustrypressurelastweek,and
grantedoff-licencesalast-minuteexemp-
tiontolockdownrules.Youmightalsobe
abletosupportyourlocalwinebarsand
restaurantsbybuyingfromthem:many
areapplyingfortemporaryoff-licences.
Harking back to wartime allotments

• You needagood non-stick pan of the correct
  size (about 20cm diameter) for this recipe,
  otherwise it will be difficult to set the bananas in
  the pancake. Don’t use bananas that are too ripe,
  or they will be difficult to slice thinly.


• Sift th eflour intoalarge bowl. Makeawell
  in the centre and crack in the egg. Pour in a
  little of the milk, then whisk the egg and milk,
  incorporatingalittle more of the flour with each
  whisk, adding more milk gradually until you
  haveabatter.Whisk in the salt, cinnamon and
  melted butter.


• Heat amedium non-stick frying pan over a
  medium-high heat. Addaknob of butter and swirl
  it around the pan. Sprinkle1teaspoon of the sugar over the base
  of the pan, then arrangeaquarter of the banana slices over the

base of the pan (you can do this in concentric

circles if you’re feeling stylish, or just scatter

them). Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the bananas

start to caramelise (check by lifting up one of

the slices with the tip ofaknife), then scatter

over aquarter of the coconut and cook for

another minute.

• Pour overaquarter of the pancake batter and
  tip the pan gently to cover the banana pieces and
  coconut evenly. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the
  batter is almost set, then flip over the pancake
  carefully usingapalette knife or spatula, and cook
  for another 1-2 minutes, until golden.


• Keep the pancake warm inalow oven while you
  repeat to make the remaining three pancakes. Serve warm with
  maple or coconut syrup.

Bali banana pancakes

Serves 4

150gplainflour 1 egg 300ml milk(wholeorsemi-skimmedworksbest) apinchofsalt ¼tsp groundcinnamon 1 tbspmeltedbutter,

plusextraforcooking 4 tsplightmuscovadosugar 2 largebananas(nottooripe),slicedonthediagonalasthinlyaspossible(about3mm)

4tbsp desiccated coconut maple or coconut syrup, to serve

Ifirs ttrie dthese pancakes years ago in Bali, says Elly McCausland. With chunks of ripe banana, they will bring some feel-good

Indonesian magic to your kitchen. Foraslig htly sharper sweetness, use slices of pineapple instead of banana

Taken fromThe Botanical Kitchenby Elly McCausland, published by Bloomsbury Absolute at £26.