Sampling English Village Pub Fare: Garden-to-Table Food at Cricketeers with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Sampling English Village Pub Fare:  Dining on Garden-to-Table Food at Cricketeers outside London with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Laurent and I went out with his work colleagues to a village garden-to-table restaurant called the Cricketeers outside London, where we were staying.

Once we sat down at the table, Laurent and I started our meal with a simple and delicious bowl of potato and leek soup to warm our bodies in the damp countryside.

After that, Laurent ate a sole meunière with lemon that was so fresh that it still tasted of the sea according to Laurent.  I ate a pink-fleshed sea trout stuffed with shrimp and capers.

The capers gave the stuffing a little tang to the fish, which appealed to my love for slightly sour foods.  We drank a crisp German Riesling with this meal.

The vegetables are what impressed everyone.  They were served on platters to pass, and reminded me of the way Chinese restaurants in the US serve dishes “family style.”

The green beans were firm without being soggy.  Sautéed baby corn ears, zucchini, and green and red peppers made up my favorite dish and reminded me of dishes from the Southwestern US.

I liked the potato cubes that came out of the kitchen with hot butter and melted cheese on them, too.  The steamed cauliflower in tomato sauce and the baby snow peas in butter also gave me many ideas for cooking at home.

The entire meal had been so good that we just had to have dessert.  Laurent ate a chocolate terrine.  I ordered a fruit salad that came with a cup-sized pitcher of cream that I poured over the fruit salad.

I knew I would burn off the calories on my 5- to 6-hour walks around London.

By Ruth Paget, Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


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