Originally Posted by Jingsamichty

Simplicity is the key. Bread, butter, cheese (cheddar and Stilton), a big pickled onion and perhaps a spoonful of Branston. That's all you need. Once you start adding more, you're on a slippery slope and will end up serving it on a slate with vinaigrette and capers and juniper-infused beetroot while riding a unicycle.

If you absolutely must add more to the base, it is acceptable to empty a bag of cheese & onion crisps onto the side of the plate.

Originally Posted by Oink

A lovely friend of mine gave me some expensive English cheddar, Stilton and a jar of Branston pickle for my birthday, which was last Saturday. I don't usually eat cheese as I think it's just gone off milk but as my mate is brilliant and wanting to think of a way of giving his present the respect that it deserves, I thought I'd do a seven-day ploughman's lunch challenge. While I don't particularly like them [ploughman's not challenges] I do the love the romantic idea of a pub one. The dabbled light filtering through the nicotine stained lace curtains of the pub window while Fred the Gates is regaling you with stories of his newest gate creation while you're trying to munch through a savoury lunchy treat while breathing in the acrid air of Bensons and Silk Cut. So tomorrow morning I’m off to get a jar of pickled onions (eurghhhh) but they seem to be central to a traditional ploughman's. But I'm not averse to branching out and I want to change them up, it is as it is a challenge after all. I'm sure we’ve talked about this topic before but as I'm too naffing lazy to look back through the threads, I need some new, fresh and novel ideas on what to put in a Ploughman’s lunch. So any constructive, actually any input would be greatly appreciated.

PS I won't be putting this exercise on YouTube because people who do are cads.

PPS sorry for the widely overindulgent prattle but I've just drank 11 tall cans of lager and four shots of something called a lemon drop while being awake for approximately 40 or so hours. Suffice to say HID is away. She's on some covid policy fact-finding bolloxy nonsense. Still, she's away.

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse

I'm quite impressed that you could be so coherent after all that booze. There must be an Australian somewhere in your family tree.

Originally Posted by Jingsamichty

Simplicity is the key. Bread, butter, cheese (cheddar and Stilton), a big pickled onion and perhaps a spoonful of Branston. That's all you need. Once you start adding more, you're on a slippery slope and will end up serving it on a slate with vinaigrette and capers and juniper-infused beetroot while riding a unicycle.

If you absolutely must add more to the base, it is acceptable to empty a bag of cheese & onion crisps onto the side of the plate.

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse

Wot, no pork pie?

Originally Posted by Oink

Nice one but I've six other ones to construct



Definitely going to add some pork pie in the mix. Also, I might try and do some various continental element to a ploughman's. That might work.

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse

Wot, no pork pie?

Originally Posted by Jingsamichty

Oh, I did forget about that. Funny, I absolutely love pork pies but I've not been eating much meat recently so didn't even think about it. However, yes, it does have a place in the ploughman's lunch but it mustn't steal the thunder from the cheese... a modest slice of pork pie, perhaps even the one with the egg in the middle.

Originally Posted by Jingsamichty

Simplicity is the key. Bread, butter, cheese (cheddar and Stilton), a big pickled onion and perhaps a spoonful of Branston. That's all you need. Once you start adding more, you're on a slippery slope and will end up serving it on a slate with vinaigrette and capers and juniper-infused beetroot while riding a unicycle.

If you absolutely must add more to the base, it is acceptable to empty a bag of cheese & onion crisps onto the side of the plate.

Originally Posted by Oink

I can do slices of a nice crusty baguette. Anything else? An piece of apple, tomato or if you're a modern ploughman you might be into some rather spicy capers.

Originally Posted by caretaker

I like a Greek salad.

Originally Posted by BristolUK

Needs a few more olives.

Originally Posted by caretaker

Just counting the pits, and there were 10, which is about right for a bowl that size. I know what I'm doing.