Exclusive:
Tom Parker Bowles has just released his new Royal Family cookery book ‘Cooking & The Crown’. So, Lifestyle and Money Reporter Lauren Haughey tried out one of its recipes
What comes to mind when you think of the Royal Family’s culinary preferences? Perhaps it’s feasting on roasted pheasant, indulging in caviar or enjoying lavish banquets within the majestic confines of Buckingham Palace.
Yet, Tom Parker Bowles now suggests this isn’t always the case. Released just last week, the Royal’s book ‘Cooking & The Crown’ details more than one hundred recipes eaten from Queen Victoria’s reign to King Charles III.
While the book does include some extravagant dishes , including ‘Pommes Elizabeth’ and ‘Pudding au Pain et aux Cerises’, there’s certainly some recipes that are easy enough to try at home. So, I thought, why not give one a go?
The recipe that especially caught my eye was ‘Fresh Pappardelle’, served with toasted mushrooms in a simple white wine sauce. The book reveals that mushrooms are ‘somewhat of an obsession’ for both Queen Camilla and King Charles, who are both ‘deeply competitive’ about collecting them.
“In the late summer, porcinis (also known as penny buns or ceps) are particularly abundant in Scotland, as are the apricot-scented chanterelles, birch bolete and wood hedgehog,” Tom penned. “The wild harvest is either cooked fresh, preserved in butter or dried for use throughout the year.”
Dropping into my local Asda, I picked up eight key ingredients for the recipe. Fresh pappardelle (£3.25), fresh parsley (60p), olive oil (£3.75), mushrooms (80p), parmesan cheese (£3.60), butter (£1.89), garlic (75p) and a mini bottle of white wine (£2.75).
Admittedly, the mushrooms I used weren’t the porcini variety as recommended by the Royal, but I was pretty convinced it wouldn’t make much difference. Ground pepper and salt is also required for the recipe, but I already had some at home.
In total, these ingredients set me back £17.39 for four servings, which works out to £4.30 per person – quite affordable.
Just a disclaimer before I start – I’m no Gordon Ramsey. Back in my university days, my flatmates dubbed me the ‘serial burner’ after I managed to incinerate two frozen pizzas in a single day – not my proudest moment.
However, even with my limited culinary skills, this recipe was easy to follow, while still leaving room for a bit of personal flair. The Royal’s method starts by boiling 400g of the pasta in ‘plenty of salted water’.
At the same time, I heated a ‘big lump of butter’ and a ‘big glug’ of olive oil over the hob on high heat, as instructed. My boyfriend and I had differing views on what constitutes a ‘big lump’ and a ‘big glug’, so I ended up adding what seemed reasonable.
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Once hot, I then fried the mushrooms for around five minutes, making sure that all the water evaporated. The recipe calls for 600g of vertically sliced porcini mushrooms, but we decided on 200g.
After that, I reduced the heat and threw in some chopped garlic – one clove is fine. This was left to simmer for a couple of minutes before I switched up the heat again and poured in half a glass of wine.
Tom recommends allowing it to evaporate before adding a sprinkle of salt, pepper and parsley to taste, along with a dollop of pasta water. Once it all seemed cooked, I then drained it and served it with a generous heap of parmesan cheese (and a bit extra on the side).
When my boyfriend, my friends and I all tucked in, we all shared the same three thoughts. It was simple, definitely something you could rustle up quickly on a work night, and overwhelmingly parmesan flavoured (definitely my fault).
Yet, there was certainly something missing, in my opinion. Perhaps a little more wine, maybe some chicken, or bacon next time would work well as an extra touch.
Even so, I was impressed at just how affordable it was and I thought the ambiguity of measurements needed was a good way to allow people to see what works best for them.
What’s more it’s healthy with mushrooms sometimes described as a ‘superfood’ – nutritional scientist Professor Tim Spector has said: “Mushrooms are also the leading dietary source of an amino acid called ergothioneine (ET), which appears to have important anti-inflammatory mechanisms for humans.”
Prof Spector explained that they can also be a source of vitamin D – which is vital for staving off dementia. The NHS advocates people take vitamin D during the winter months, and Prof Spector said there was also a hack to make the mushrooms actually have more of it when you come to eat them.
He said: “Like humans, mushrooms can synthesise vitamin D through sunshine and produce it in their skin. If you’ve got mushrooms at home, stick yours in the sun for around 20 minutes to maximise this benefit.”
