Curried Oatcakes, UK Politics, and the Awesomeness of Multiculturalism · 11:24pm Feb 27th, 2017
Backtrack to S6E12 (Spice Up Your Life) and Saffron Masala’s mouth-watering offer of a curried oatcake—and a grass sandwich marinated overnight in a mustard Dijon dressing—how can you say no to that?
This post is my interpretation of this dish from the Tasty Treat, and a contrived attempt to give a nod of thanks to the people of Stoke-on-Trent for playing their part in the global fight against the rising spectre of fascism by not electing the far right populist Paul Nuttall of the UK Independence Party.
Last Thursday’s British parliamentary by-election saw reporters from the New York Times and Washington Post making their way to this corner of the English West Midlands, scenting blood, ready to witness the next casualty of the political chaos sweeping our planet. But it turned out not to be. It may be a small victory, but every little counts. At the moment we need every bit of optimism we can get.
In the course of a nasty electoral campaign, a lot of unpleasant and untrue things have been said about the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Commentators dubbed it the “Brexit Capital of Britain” (it isn’t). A place of grim industrial decline and racial tensions. This is not fair. It is true that this is a city going through hard times following the decline of traditional industries, and in the resulting high-inequality environment, many voters were sadly misled into thinking voting to leave the EU was a good idea. Like too many other cities around the world, it is the sort of place where make everything great again slogans are rather more alluring than a unconvincing we never stopped being great.
But don’t write Stoke off yet. The city has a lot going for it. There are new high-tech firms (I know one who has supplied components to NASA). The pottery industry is seeing a revival, led by small workshops producing top quality tableware. And the city is home to one of world’s finest, if under-rated, foodstuffs: the Staffordshire oatcake.
Oatcakes from this part of the world are savoury oatmeal pancakes. Often served with a cheese filling, but you can use them to wrap up just about anything edible. It is sensible to keep a stash of them in the freezer, so that if you find yourself in a morning-after scenario with a house full of empty bottles and an unfinished Indian takeaway in the fridge, you can dethaw an oatcake, fill it with Chicken Tikka or vegetable curry, stick in under the grill, and you have the perfect morning snack. Or lunch. Or dinner.
And there is no reason why such a tasty treat cannot also be served up as a fine dining experience. As Saffron Masala clearly understood. Curried oatcakes strike me as a greatly unappreciated fusion food, which deserves to rank alongside the like of Tex-Mex and the amazing Italian-German culinary mix you can get in Munich.
How can you sample this delicacy if you don’t live near Stoke-on-Trent? Oatcakes can be found in larger British supermarkets, usually hidden somewhere among the bread products. If you live further afield, you may have to make your own. There are plenty of recipes online. Just mix up oatmeal, flour, yeast, and water. Fry in a large pan. Then fill with your favourite vindaloo, madras, Balti, dhal or whatever, and enjoy.
Cool stuff.
I pretty much had Rarity's expression when I saw Pinkie eating like this. Her face has completely covered the dish. There is no room for escape.
But it's not American food unless we have taken it from some other culture and modified it to the point where it's unrecognizable. Like pizza, or chinese food in general.
Hmm. That does sound delicious. I may have to give it a try.
Also, yay for a poorly greased spot on the slippery slope to utter madness.
Sounds delicious! Here in the benighted US, I'll have to make my own, but this is definitely a recipe I'm going to try!
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Oatcake burgers. Bam, done!
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Or what we in the USA call Italian food in general as well.
4438425 Bacon-wrapped oatcake burgers with Teriyaki sauce, yum!
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Well, I'd eat a styrofoam cup if there was bacon wrapped around it, but that does sound yummy!
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I may have to steal this bit of genius. Thank you.