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Dec. 28th, 2006
Farewell, Richard Boston
Dec. 28th, 2006 04:28 pmIn the Christmas rush I missed the death of Richard Boston. It's funny, I was only thinking about him recently. I wondered where he had got to, because at one time, in the 1970s, you couldn't open a newspaper or turn on the radio without encountering him. An encounter was always worthwhile too - he was funny and frighteningly erudite and loved good living. I never met him, which is a shame because I'm quite certain we'd have got on well in a fiery kind of way. The great shame is that he was only 67.
What I remember him for mostly his his book, Beer and Skittles, which seems to be shamefully out of print. The anecdotes related to beer and to pub culture were entertaining enough - and given the demise of the kind of English pub he celebrated it's a valuable cultural document - but the best thing of all was the recipe section, which provided me with a lot of the standards that have been a fixture in my culinary repertoire over the last thirty years. The oxtail casserole is rightly praised in the Guardian obituary, but there's also the Guinness stew, and my near-legendary sausage casserole, and of course my Christmas pudding for which, given the result of the recent poll, I should print here. Although this particular recipe has granted establishment status by its inclusion in Jane Grigson's English Food, a book which should be a sdtandard in every kitchen.
Richard Boston's Christmas Pudding
300 g Fresh breadcrumbs
250 g soft brown sugar
250 g currants
300 g raisins
250 g sultanas
60 g chopped mixed peel
300 g shredded suet
½ tsp salt
1 tsp mixed spice
grated rind of a lemon
2 tsp lemon juice
2 large eggs
150 ml milk
300 ml bottled Guinness
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the liquids. Mix everything together, then divide into three 1 litre buttered pudding basins. Cover each basin tightly with greaseproof paper and foil. Leave overnight, then steam for 8 hours. Cool, re-cover, and store in a cool place.
Before serving, steam for a further 2-3 hours. Serve with rum butter (qv) or, as I have always done, rum sauce:
250 ml milk
1 Tbsp cornflour
1 Tbsp sugar
A good slosh of rum
Cream the cornflour and sugar with a little of the milk in a jug. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling, then add to the jug. Mix well and return the mixture to the saucepan. Keep stirring until it thickens. Slosh in a generous amount of rum.
What I remember him for mostly his his book, Beer and Skittles, which seems to be shamefully out of print. The anecdotes related to beer and to pub culture were entertaining enough - and given the demise of the kind of English pub he celebrated it's a valuable cultural document - but the best thing of all was the recipe section, which provided me with a lot of the standards that have been a fixture in my culinary repertoire over the last thirty years. The oxtail casserole is rightly praised in the Guardian obituary, but there's also the Guinness stew, and my near-legendary sausage casserole, and of course my Christmas pudding for which, given the result of the recent poll, I should print here. Although this particular recipe has granted establishment status by its inclusion in Jane Grigson's English Food, a book which should be a sdtandard in every kitchen.
Richard Boston's Christmas Pudding
300 g Fresh breadcrumbs
250 g soft brown sugar
250 g currants
300 g raisins
250 g sultanas
60 g chopped mixed peel
300 g shredded suet
½ tsp salt
1 tsp mixed spice
grated rind of a lemon
2 tsp lemon juice
2 large eggs
150 ml milk
300 ml bottled Guinness
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the liquids. Mix everything together, then divide into three 1 litre buttered pudding basins. Cover each basin tightly with greaseproof paper and foil. Leave overnight, then steam for 8 hours. Cool, re-cover, and store in a cool place.
Before serving, steam for a further 2-3 hours. Serve with rum butter (qv) or, as I have always done, rum sauce:
250 ml milk
1 Tbsp cornflour
1 Tbsp sugar
A good slosh of rum
Cream the cornflour and sugar with a little of the milk in a jug. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling, then add to the jug. Mix well and return the mixture to the saucepan. Keep stirring until it thickens. Slosh in a generous amount of rum.
