ST GEORGE'S DAY: Celebrate Englishness

England marks its national day, St George's Day, today. April 23 is recognised as the date in which Saint George died in 303 AD

Here is a little St George's Day page for you to enjoy to celebrate everything good that's English:

RECIPES: Good old English grub

Organic sausages, mustard mash and caramelised onions (courtesy of Sainsburys.co.uk)

Ingredients
750g organic potatoes, peeled & cut into equal sized pieces
1 tablespoon organic olive oil
15g organic butter
3 medium organic onions, sliced
1 tablespoon organic sugar
8 organic sausages
1 tablespoon organic wholegrain mustard
150ml organic single cream
1 bunch organic watercress
freshly ground black pepper

Method
Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter, fry the onions, stirring in the sugar. Cook gently and to caramelise.
Meanwhile, cook the sausages following the pack instructions.
Drain the potatoes and mash until smooth. Beat in the mustard and cream. Add seasoning to taste. Return to the saucepan to reheat if necessary.
Just before serving, reheat the onion and add the watercress, stir gently until the watercress wilts.
To assemble, divide the mash onto serving plates, place the onion & watercress to one side & pile the sausages on top.
Serve immediately.

Fish and chips (courtesy of Waitrose.com)

Ingredients
125g self-raising flour, plus 2 tbsp
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ ground turmeric
200ml light beer, such as Waitrose Bavarian Wheat Beer
1.3kg large floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
700g skinned Icelandic cod or haddock, preferably in one piece
2 litres (approx) sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep frying
Lemon wedges, to serve
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Sift 125g flour with the salt, baking powder and turmeric into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour half the beer into the well and whisk the beer, gradually incorporating the flour from around the bowl to make a thick batter. Whisk in the remaining beer. Cover and leave to stand for one hour in the fridge.
Peel and cut the potatoes into 1.5cm thick slices then cut across each slice to make chunky chips. Put the chips in a bowl, pour in cold water to cover and leave until ready to cook. (You can prepare the potatoes several hours in advance.) Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper and cut into 4 chunky pieces. Season each piece on both sides. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to cook.
Heat the oil in the deep fat fryer or pan with basket to 180-190°C. While the oil is reaching temperature, thoroughly drain the potatoes and pat dry using plenty of kitchen paper. Add half the potatoes to the pan and fry for 10-12 minutes until golden and tender. When ready, drain the chips on kitchen paper then tip into a roasting tin. Keep the chips hot in a moderate oven while frying the second batch, and the fish.
Remove the seasoned fish from the fridge and sprinkle with the remaining flour, turning them until they are coated in a fine dusting.
Before you start to fry the fish, check the oil temperature. You will probably need to reduce the heat as the oil will get hotter once the chips are removed. Dip two pieces of fish in the batter until completely coated.
Carefully lower the fish into the hot fat. Fry for about four minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper on a plate and keep warm while coating and frying the remaining pieces. Serve hot with the chips and lemon wedges.

Cook's tips
If you'd prefer not to use beer in the batter, use the same quantity of water instead.
If using a pan fitted with a basket, pour in the oil until a generous third full and heat. Use a frying thermometer to check the temperature. As a guide, a 2-litre bottle of oil is the right quantity for a 24cm pan.
If you do not have a deep fat fryer, use a large, heavy-based pan instead. Pour in the oil until about a third full and use a large, slotted spoon in place of the chip basket.
Although helpful, a frying thermometer isn't essential. You can gauge the temperature by dropping one tsp batter into the hot oil. If it bubbles furiously and starts to brown in 30 seconds, the oil is ready.
Never leave the kitchen while deep-fat frying. Once finished, leave the oil in the pan to cool completely. Use a funnel to pour the oil back into the bottle, discarding any residue in the base of the pan. Most fish-frying oils can be used a couple more times before discarding.
You can cook your chips with their skins on: just don't peel the potatoes.

Bread and Butter Pudding with Honeyed Figs (courtesy of Waitrose.com)
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients
6 fresh figs, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Waitrose English blossom honey
25g Waitrose Italian cut mixed peel
25g softened butter
1 Waitrose richly fruited loaf
2 medium eggs
400ml milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Method
Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Place the figs in the base of a shallow 20 x 32cm ovenproof dish (in which you will cook the pudding later) and drizzle with the honey. Cook under the grill for 5-6 minutes until the figs start to turn golden.
Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Leave half the figs in the base of the dish and retain the other half (reserving a couple to decorate the top of the pudding). Scatter half of the mixed peel over the figs.
Butter the loaf and cut each slice in half. Place half the slices slightly overlapping each other over the figs, top with the remaining figs and mixed peel, and finish with another layer of bread.
To make the custard mixture, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract and pour over the pudding.
Place the reserved fig slices on the top and sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the pudding. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is crispy and golden and the custard is lightly set. Serve with single cream.

Cook's tips
When figs are out of season use dried figs, roughly chopped.
Try using slices of brioche loaf or croissants instead of the fruited bread.

Drinks recommendation
Such a sweet and luscious dessert is crying out for an equally delicious dessert wine.

Drop scones (courtesy of Sainsburys.co.uk)
Great for afternoon tea!

Ingredients
225g plain flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
30g caster sugar
1 egg
250ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon sunflower oil

Method
Sift the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda together into a bowl. Stir in the sugar.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the egg, buttermilk & oil. Stir the liquid together and gradually incorporate the flour to form a batter, transfer the mixture to a measuring jug.
Heat a lightly oiled, heavy based frying pan over a medium heat. When hot (but not smoking), pour a small amount of the batter into the pan, cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Lift onto a wire rack to cool.

MERCHANDISE: Show your devotion

If you want to show your country just what it means to you, here are a few items to hammer the message home, available on www.stgeorgesday.com

St George's Day exclusive membership £19.95
In return for a t.shirt emblazoned with 'A Day for England' logo; 10 per cent discount on all future merchandise; quarterly newsletter with events; the knowledge that at last someone is doing something to foster the sense of pride in this great country.

Rugby shirts £24.95
Featuring the emblem "A Day for England" large on the reverse and sleeves.

England snooker cue £49.95
Quality 19 0z Snooker Cue complete with hard carrying case.

Aerial ball £2.50
Comes with a free spring.

England car window sticker £1.99
Spread the word!

BE PROUD: Five reasons you should be proud to be English (submitted by our very own newsroom)

1. Siding with the underdog (eg Susan Boyle)
2. Accents...the plethora of British accents on such small island.
3. Fish ‘n’ chips.
4. In the big snowfall, riot police appeared on Primrose Hill, got out their shields and proceeded to offer rides to all the snow-frolickers. That was brilliant – such an absurd and silly sense of fun – and you can’t imagine it happening in, say, Austria – though I guess they’re a bit more used to snow there.
5. When there’s gorgeous spring weather like this, that line ‘Oh to be in England now that April’s there’ comes to mind.

And the final word comes from Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

"There is a forgotten, nay almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is England".