Since I got up early to watch his parents' wedding in 1981 and his brother's wedding in 2011, of course I got up early on May 19 to watch Prince Harry marry his sweetheart, Meghan Markle. I chose to watch the Royal wedding on PBS because the BBC would be doing the commentary.
In contrast to the bad news given every day on television, it was profoundly refreshing to watch an event called a “fairy tale” wedding unfold. News anchors that are normally so cynical and detached spoke about “tearing up” and “heart-warming” and “the wedding which could change the world.”
Frankly, changing the world with one wedding seemed a bit of hyperbole, but for five hours on Saturday morning, it changed my world. For those five hours I was a little girl again thinking that someday my Prince would show up and provide me a tiara.
As a devoted Anglophile, seeing the English cheer on a member of the monarchy, rather than downgrade it, was fun. Having actually been to a service in Windsor Chapel just added to the delight. By the way, the rectangle in the center of the black and white floor between the sides of the quire (choir) is the grave of Henry VIII.
I spent the time texting back and forth about different elements of the wedding with several friends. We were all Googling details of the wedding. My focus in Googling was to learn the menu of the reception. Finally, it was published.
A friend who was in the texting group asked me to explain just exactly what the Royals and their guests were eating. For those outside the food industry, the menu was written in what I call “menu-speak.” I thought perhaps those people who read this column might enjoy a translation as well.
Passed to the guests on trays by wait-staff:
• “Scottish langoustines wrapped in smoked salmon with citrus crème fraiche” - A type of shellfish similar to shrimp, wrapped in smoked salmon topped with a rich sour cream-whipped cream flavored with citrus juice
• “Grilled English asparagus wrapped in Cumbrian ham” — fresh asparagus spears, cooked on a grill for a few seconds to set the bright green color, then wrapped in the first prosciutto processed in Great Britain.
• “Garden pea panna cotta with quail eggs and lemon verbena” — Panna cotta means “cooked cream” in Italian. It is similar to custard, but is thickened with gelatin, not eggs. More often sweet than savory, this was flavored with fresh green peas, probably barely cooked, then pureed and strained. The quail eggs were probably poached, then halved. Lemon verbena is an herb that has an intense lemon taste.
• “Heritage tomato and basil tartare with balsamic pearls” — Tartare simply means chopped, raw food. The Balsamic pearls are from the wave of molecular gastronomy, a type of cooking more chemistry than cooking. Balsamic vinegar is combined with gelatin and cooled. The balsamic vinegar is then dropped from a squeeze bottle into cold olive oil, forming a droplet or pearl. The pearls then just need to be strained out and served. The taste is intensely vinegary.
• “Poached free range chicken bound in a lightly spiced yoghurt with roasted apricot” — This is straight-forward: Cooked chicken which was raised outside a pen is made into a chicken salad using yogurt rather than mayonnaise and roasted fresh apricots rather than celery or other raw vegetables.
• “Croquette of confit Windsor lamb, roasted vegetables and shallot jam” — To begin, a confit is a cooking style in which lamb is slowly poached until done in lamb fat; then the lamb meat is made into a patty or pyramid of chopped lamb and cooked until crisp in a skillet (similar to our Salmon croquettes). The shallot jam is made with sugar, chopped shallots and vinegar that are then reduced until thick and syrupy. The patties would be topped with the shallot jam and slices of roasted vegetables.
• “Warm asparagus spears with mozzarella and sun-blush tomatoes” — Asparagus again! I suppose the cheese was melted onto the asparagus spears. Sun-blushed tomatoes are just a way of making ripe tomatoes sound sexier.
Following the passed hors d'oeuvres, rather than having a formal sit-down dinner, guests were offered “bowl food,” also passed by wait-staff. The chic food at present in London is serving tiny portions of entree styled food in small bowls with tiny forks. I totally agree with critics who have commented that tiny bowls would be difficult to juggle along with a drink and napkin. Drips onto wedding finery were inevitable.
Bowl food menu:
“Pea and mint risotto” — peas again! Fresh green peas were added to a dish composed of special rice called Arborio, white wine and chicken stock, stirred until creamy, then topped with Parmesan cheese.
“Chicken Fricasse” — Fricasseed food usually implies a dish of cut up meat, sautéed, then cooked down in a gravy or sauce.
“Slow-roasted pork belly, served with apple compote and crackling” — Pork belly is the cut of pork that produces bacon but roasted, not cured. This fatty piece of pork was served with cooked down apples and a piece of the crispy skin of the pig.
Reading through this menu, it sounds interesting, but probably did not fill up the gentlemen at the event. Just as their American counterparts following a wedding reception, the British gentlemen may have visited the local fish and chips shops to top off the precious bites of food offered at the reception.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
