When it comes to researching and writing a book about the simple to sumptuous repasts of the royal family, who could be better to do this than the son of HM the Queen?

Tom Parker-Bowles has produced a fascinating book of royal recipes,  featuring dishes from every monarch from Queen Victoria to King Charles III.

Cooking and the Crown, Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles lll, has over 100 recipes for every occasion from breakfasts, picnic lunches and dinners, to coronations and state banquets. Sophisticated creations feature alongside dishes of surprising simplicity, combining historical insights with modern tastes. Each chapter is accompanied by tales of royal kitchens, chefs and culinary traditions and predilections. Weaving together material from the royal archives, contemporary accounts and personal insight, Cooking and the Crown paints a vivid picture of royal tastes and traditions, as far back as Victorian times.

This  hardback has a rather regal purple cover and is published by Aster at £30. It will make a wonderful Christmas present, especially for anyone who’s a royalty-watcher or just interested in culinary history. 

Here are a few recipes from the book to satisfy your royal curiosity and whet  your appetite:

Fresh Pappardelle with Porcini

(Serves 4)

“Wild mushrooms are somewhat of an obsession, with Charles III and Queen Camilla deeply competitive about their hauls. 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. The wild harvest is either cooked fresh, preserved in butter or dried for use throughout the year.”

400g pappardelle pasta

a big lump of butter

a big glug of olive oil

600g porcini (cep) mushrooms, sliced vertically

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Half a glass of white wine

a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper

a big handful of grated Parmesan, to serve

 

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water according to the package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until all the water has evaporated. Reduce the heat and add the garlic, cooking for a few minutes, then whack the heat back up and deglaze the pan with the wine.

Let it evaporate, then add salt and pepper to taste, parsley and a teaspoonful of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce in the pan, mixing well.  Serve with the grated Parmesan

Oeufs Suzette

( Serves 4)

“This was a dish served to George V, recovering from septicaemia and an abscess on his lung, when convalescing in the brisk Bognor sea air. ‘Bugger Bognor’ were said to be his last words, uttered in response to his doctor, who promised that he would soon be well enough to recuperate in the Sussex seaside town. If only it were true. The reality is rather more prosaic. The people of Bognor had asked if they could rename the town Bognor Regis, in honour of his stay. ‘Bugger Bognor,’ he growled to his private secretary, Arthur Stamfordham. Nevertheless, their wish was granted. Convalescent dishes were plain and easily digestible, involving all manner of beef jellies, chicken custards and a thousand ways with eggs. Despite the simplicity of these dishes, their preparation was usually anything but. The original recipe contains béchamel sauce, but with all the butter and cream involved, it’s an embellishment too far.”

4 medium baking potatoes, washed

100g butter 

100ml milk 

100ml double cream

a big pinch of salt

8 thin slices of ham 

4 eggs, poached

a handful of Gruyère or Comté cheese

crisp green salad, to serve

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.

Bake the potatoes for 1 hour until the skins are deep brown and crisp. When cool enough to handle, slice off the tops and scoop the soft flesh out into a bowl. Add the butter, milk, cream and salt, and mix together.

Heat the grill to high. Line the inside of each potato shell with two slices of ham, then spoon the potato mixture back into the shells, leaving a good 5cm gap at the top of each. Add the poached eggs, top with the cheese, then brown under the fierce grill and top with black pepper. Serve with a crisp green salad.

Queen Mary’s Birthday Cake

“A recipe from Gabriel Tschumi. ‘Queen Mary knew that young people liked cakes,’ he wrote in his book, Royal Chef, ‘so I made a point of providing a choice of three different kinds.’ This one was served to a young Prince Richard (now Duke of Gloucester) during the 1951 visit that I mentioned at the start of this chapter (see page 101). Among her observations, the Queen had heavily underlined the chocolate cake, written Prince Richard’s name and the words ‘great success’. The famed cake was also served each year at Queen Mary’s birthday.”

125g melted butter, plus extra for greasing

8 egg yolks

2 egg whites

200g golden caster sugar

200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

For the chocolate ganache 

600ml double cream

100g caster sugar

450g good-quality dark chocolate, grated

 

You will need two 20cm round cake tins

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. 

Grease and flour the cake tins.

Whip the eggs and sugar in a bain marie (a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water – do not let the base of the bowl touch the water) until thick and you reach the ribbon stage (the beaters when lifted will leave a ribbon trail of batter). Sift in the flour in three stages, gently folding in each time, then add the melted butter and fold in until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tins and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool in the tins, then remove from the tins to cool completely.

For the ganache, combine the cream, sugar and chocolate in a heavy saucepan and bring to the boil, then leave for 1 hour to cool. 

Cut each cake in half and spread each layer with ganache, building up to a four-layer sandwich. Coat the entire surface of the cake with the remaining ganache.

Extracted from Cooking and the Crown – Royal recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles IIl , Aster £30, photography John Carey