When talking to residents out and about in Buckinghamshire we have come across some key traditional dishes from Buckinghamshire. After abit of digging here are some recipes we wanted to share!

Bacon Badger

 Pastry wrapping a filling consisting of bacon, potatoes, onions and beef suet.

Cherry Duff

4 cupfuls pitted cherries

4 teaspoonfuls baking powder 2 cupfuls sugar

1 teaspoonful vinegar

1 teaspoonful salt

1 tablespoonful butter

3/4 cupful milk

2 cupfuls flour

Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add butter; mix until mealy; add milk. Put sugar, cherries and vinegar in bottom of buttered baking dish. Cover with flour mixture and steam forty-five minutes. Serve in dish in which it is cooked

Cherry Bumpers and Bumpkins

2kg black cherries, stoned

300g sugar

1kg shortcrust pastry

Sprinkle the sugar over the cherries and toss to mix thoroughly. Roll out the pastry to about 5mm thick and cut into 10cm diameter rounds (should be enough for 16-18 rounds). Divide the sugared cherries equally between the rounds, heaping a pile of cherries on the centre of each round. Dampen the edges of each round, fold them over to make a semicircular pasty, and seal together. Bake on a lightly greased tray at to 200C for 25 minutes. Dust with sugar.
Eat hot or cold.

Stokenchurch Pie

500g of plain flour

800g meat (any cooked meat like lamb or beef chopped small)

100ml Beef stock

200g lard

3 hard-boiled eggs

100g dried pasta

A little salt

A little water

Mince or cut up the cooked meat and add to a little thickened beef stock. Boil the dried pasta in salt water until tender, cut up small and mix with the meat. Cut up the hard-boiled eggs. Make pastry with the flour and lard, (rub in the soft lard to the flour until it makes bread-crumbs and then add one or two tablespoons of water to bind) roll out and line a well-greased pie tin. Put in half the meat, the eggs, and then the rest of the meat on top. Cover with pastry. Make a hole in the centre, and brush over the top crust with milk. Bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes.

Buckinghamshire Pie

2 young rabbits

2 oz macaroni

½ pint cream

1 tablespoon chopped onion

2 oz grated Parmesan cheese

Pepper and salt

Puff or flaky pastry

Stew the rabbits gently until tender 1 – 1½ hours. Remove all the bones and cut up the meat and place in a pie dish with the other ingredients. Cover with the pastry and bake in a moderately hot oven  for about 1 hour.

Cattern Cakes

9 oz self-raising flour

2 oz currants or sultanas

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

4 oz melted butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 oz ground almonds

7 oz caster sugar

1 medium egg (beaten)

Sugar & cinnamon mix for sprinkling

Stir the flour and cinnamon in a bowl, then stir in currants, almonds, caraway seeds and the sugar. Add the melted butter and the beaten egg. Mix well to form a soft dough. Roll out on to a floured board, into a 12 x 10 inch rectangle. Brush the dough with water and sprinkle with the sugar/cinnamon mix. Roll up and cut into 3/4″ slices (if preferred the dough can also be formed into small balls and pressed flat, the taste is the same!)
Bake at 200°C (180°C fan oven) or Gas 6 for about 10-12 minutes until browned.

Local Pork Based Pies

Padbury Pork Pie: Pork Pie using prime local pork shoulder, sage, spices and seasoning.

Winslow Pork Pie: Highly spiced pie which includes crumbled black pudding pieces, chilli flakes and garlic.

Buckingham Pork Pie: A lighter, sweeter pie and more of a picnic pie than a pork pie, incorporating Bramley apple, home cooked ham pieces, onion, Cheddar cheese, herbs and a hint of English mustard.