25 Forgotten British Side Dishes From the 1970s That Cost Pennies and Feed a Family

Presenter

• YouTube cooking video: “{25 Forgotten British Side Dishes From the 1970s That Cost Pennies and Feed a Family”} (presenter referred to as “your mom” in the subtitles)

Ingredients & quantities (only where mentioned)

Number 25: Bread sauce

• Breadcrumbs (handful)
• Milk (warm)
• Onion “studded” with 4–5 cloves
• Bay leaf
• Butter: “a knob” (stirred in at the end)
• Bread heels (torn)
• Technique timing: 20 minutes on lowest heat

Number 24: Mushy peas from dried marrow fat peas

• Dried marrow fat peas: 1 mug
• Cold water (for soaking)
• Bicarbonate of soda tablet (for soaking)
• Water (to cover after draining)
• Sugar: pinch
• Butter: knob
• Salt
• White pepper
• (Optional/mentioned outcome) peas simmered until collapsed into a thick mush

Number 23: Pickled beetroot

• Whole beetroots
• Malt vinegar
• Sugar
• Peppercorns
• Old coffee jars (for packing)

Number 22: Cauliflower cheese

• 1 whole cauliflower, broken into florets
• Butter
• Flour (for white sauce/rue)
• Milk
• Strong cheddar (fistful)
• Breadcrumbs (scattered on top)

Number 21: Champ

• Potatoes (boiled until they fall apart)
• Hot milk
• Butter: lump “size of an egg”
• Spring onions (chopped), softened in butter

Number 20: Parsley sauce

• Basic white sauce components: butter, flour, milk
• Fresh parsley: “massive handful” (chopped fine)
• Salt, white pepper
• Nutmeg not mentioned here (only general flavor cues)

Number 19: Bubble and squeak patties

• Cold mashed potato
• Chopped leftover cabbage/swede/carrot/“whatever was left”
• Beaten egg (bind)
• Dripping or pan fat (for shallow frying)

Number 18: Pickleilly (chunky yellow relish)

• Vegetables: cauliflower florets, silver skin onions, cubes of marrow
• Salt (to draw moisture overnight)
• Vinegar (sharp)
• Mustard powder
• Turmeric
• Corn flour

Number 17: Brazed red cabbage

• Half a red cabbage (shredded)
• Onion (sliced)
• Cooking apple (chopped)
• Vinegar (splash)
• Brown sugar: 1 spoonful
• Cloves: a few
• Water/vinegar cooking (covered and simmered)

Number 16: Fried bread

• Thick slices of white bread (preferably 2 days old / stale)
• Fat left in pan: bacon fat / sausage fat / dripping / lard

Number 15: Peas pudding (boiled in cloth alongside ham)

• Dried yellow split peas: tied in a muslin cloth (approx 1 pound mentioned)
• Simmering bacon/ham joint liquor (for cooking/flavor)
• (No separate liquids/seasonings listed beyond cooking in the ham pot)

Number 14: Creamed leaks

• Leeks: sliced into thick rounds, washed grit out
• Water (just enough to cover)
• Butter: knob
• Cream or top of milk: generous splash
• Salt
• White pepper
• Nutmeg: scrape

Number 13: Mint sauce from scratch

• Fresh mint leaves
• Sugar: 1 teaspoon
• Boiling water: splash (to dissolve sugar)
• Malt vinegar: added until sharp and fresh

Number 12: Cheese and onion pie (as a side)

• Shortcrust pastry (pastry case)
• Onions (softened in butter; sliced thin)
• Crumbled Lancashire cheese
• Baked until golden and set like savory custard

Number 11: “Colkan / Kolkan” (potato with cabbage/kale)

• Mashed potato base
• Shredded cabbage or kale
• Butter (to soften cabbage/kale and mixed through)
• Splash of hot milk

Number 10: Onion gravy (no packets)

• 3 large onions, sliced thin
• Dripping (for slow frying)
• Flour: 1 tablespoon
• Vegetable water saved from boiling carrots and potatoes
• Optional: Worcestershire sauce “maybe a splash”
• Optional: Oxo cube crumbled “maybe half an Oxo cube”
• Simmer until thick enough to coat back of spoon

Number 9: Savory rice (repackaged elsewhere)

• Chopped onion (fried)
• Long grain rice: 1 mug
• Stock: 2 mugs (from chicken Oxo cube)
• Frozen peas: handful near end
• Optional: pinch of turmeric (color)

Number 8: Mashed swede with butter

• Swede (peeled, cubed)
• Butter: “a disgraceful amount”
• White pepper (grind)

Number 7: Stuffing balls

• Paxo sage & onion stuffing: mixed with boiling water
• Egg: sometimes beaten egg added to bind
• Bacon: sometimes handful chopped for richness
• (Shaped into golf-ball-sized rounds)
• Oven timing: baked 30 minutes before roast comes out

Number 6: Chip shop style curry sauce

• Curry powder
• Chopped onion
• Flour
• Stock
• Mango chutney: 1 spoonful (or marmalade mentioned as alternative)
• Technique: fried onion + curry powder + flour, add stock, simmer 10 minutes

Number 5: Roasted parsnips in dripping

• Parsnips (peeled, quartered lengthwise)
• Beef dripping (roasted alongside potatoes)
• Natural caramelization happens in hot fat

Number 4: Pickled onions

• Pickling onions (string bag)
• Sterilized jars
• Spiced malt vinegar
• Salt/boiling steps not described beyond peeling and pickling ritual

Number 3: Carrots and sweet mash (carrot + swede mash)

• Equal amounts of carrot and swede, peeled and cubed
• Butter
• Salt
• White pepper
• Boiled together until soft, then mashed

Number 2: Yorkshire puddings (as a side)

• Batter: flour, eggs, milk
• Resting time: batter rest while oven heats
• Oven + muffin tin preheat: oven heated, tin preheated with 1 teaspoon of dripping in each well until fat is smoking
• Bake time: 20 minutes
• Output: 12 golden risen puddings (from the described batch)

Number 1: Bread and butter

• Sliced white bread
• Butter
• Served as a table staple (no cooking steps beyond buttering)

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Step-by-step methods (key technique + timings/temps)

Number 25: Bread sauce

1. Tear bread heels into breadcrumbs.
2. In a saucepan, simmer breadcrumbs in warm milk.
3. Add an onion studded with 4–5 cloves, plus a bay leaf; keep on the lowest heat for 20 minutes.
4. Stir in a knob of butter at the end until glossy.

Equipment: saucepan

Number 24: Mushy peas (dried marrow fat)

1. Start the night before: soak 1 mug dried marrow fat peas in cold water with a bicarbonate of soda tablet.
2. By morning: peas have swollen to about twice size.
3. Drain, cover with fresh water, then simmer until they collapse into a thick mush.
4. Stir hard with a wooden spoon: add pinch of sugar, knob of butter, salt, white pepper.
5. Aim for texture: half smooth/half chunky.

Equipment: saucepan; wooden spoon

Number 23: Pickled beetroot

1. Boil whole beetroots until tender.
2. Slip off skins under cold water.
3. Slice into thick rounds.
4. Pack into jars; fill with malt vinegar + sugar + peppercorns.
5. Expect vinegar to turn shocking purple within hours.

Equipment: boiling pot; jars

Number 22: Cauliflower cheese

1. Break cauliflower into florets; boil until just tender.
2. Make a thick white sauce (butter + flour + milk).
3. Stir in grated strong cheddar until it turns golden and stringy.
4. Pour cauliflower into a Pyrex dish, cover with sauce, top with more cheese + breadcrumbs.
5. Grill until the top blisters brown and sauce bubbles at edges.

Equipment: pot, grater, Pyrex dish, grill

Number 21: Champ

1. Boil potatoes until they fall apart.
2. Mash with hot milk, butter (egg-sized lump).
3. Soften chopped spring onions in the butter, then mash through.
4. Serve as a mound with a well of melted butter pooled in the center.

Number 20: Parsley sauce

1. Make a basic white sauce (butter + flour + milk).
2. At the end, stir in a massive handful of fresh, finely chopped parsley.
3. Sauce is quick: ~5 minutes stirring (as described).
4. Served in a jug next to boiled gammon/poached fish/broad beans.

Number 19: Bubble and squeak patties

1. Take cold mashed potato; mix in chopped leftover cabbage/swede/carrot/etc.
2. Bind with a beaten egg.
3. Shape into thick rounds.
4. Shallow fry in dripping until each side is dark and crackling.
5. Result: outside shatters on cut; inside soft.

Number 18: Pickleilly

1. Salt vegetables overnight to draw out moisture.
2. Simmer briefly in a sharp mixture of vinegar, mustard powder, turmeric, corn flour.
3. Spoon/pack into sterilized jars; store for months.

Equipment: sterilized jars; pot for simmering

Number 17: Brazed red cabbage

1. Shred half a red cabbage.
2. Gently fry with sliced onion and chopped cooking apple.
3. Add splash of vinegar, brown sugar, and a few cloves.
4. Lid on; simmer for 1 hour.
5. Serve soft, glossy; purple turns to deep burgundy.

Number 16: Fried bread

1. Cut thick slices of stale (about 2 days old) white bread.
2. Fry in fat left in the pan from the previous meal (bacon/sausage/dripping/lard).
3. Bread should become golden/crisp outside and soft/rich inside.

Equipment: frying pan

Number 15: Peas pudding

1. Tie dried yellow split peas in a muslin cloth.
2. Drop cloth into a pot with simmering bacon/ham joint.
3. Cook for hours until peas turn into a smooth, buttery paste flavored by pork liquor.
4. Untie to serve: holds shape like a golden dome.

Equipment: muslin cloth; pot

Number 14: Creamed leaks

1. Slice leeks into thick rounds; wash grit out.
2. Simmer in just enough water to cover until soft.
3. Drain.
4. Stir in butter, and cream or top of milk; season with salt + white pepper + scrape of nutmeg.
5. Cook/finish until silky and sweet.

Equipment: saucepan

Number 13: Mint sauce

1. Chop fresh mint finely on a board.
2. Combine with 1 teaspoon sugar and a splash of boiling water to dissolve.
3. Cool, then add malt vinegar until sharp and fresh.
4. Serve over lamb (from a small China jug).

Number 12: Cheese and onion pie

1. Make a short crust pastry case.
2. Fill with sliced onions softened in butter, mixed with crumbled Lancashire cheese.
3. Bake until top is golden and filling sets like savory custard.
4. Serve cold in slices beside salads/cold meats/pickles (single pie can cover three or four meals).

Number 11: “Kolkan”

1. Fry shredded cabbage/kale in butter until just wilting.
2. Fold through mashed potato with more butter.
3. Add a splash of hot milk and mix until cohesive.
4. Butter should be pooled/melted in the top when served (described as a rule).

Number 10: Onion gravy

1. Slice 3 large onions thin.
2. Fry them slowly in dripping until dark brown and sweet: about 20 minutes over low heat.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour.
4. Add vegetable water saved from boiling carrots and potatoes.
5. Optional flavor: splash of Worcestershire sauce or half an Oxo cube crumbled in.
6. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Number 9: Savory rice

1. Fry chopped onion.
2. Stir in 1 mug long-grain rice.
3. Add 2 mugs stock (from a chicken Oxo cube).
4. Near the end, add handful frozen peas and optionally pinch turmeric.
5. Cook until rice absorbs stock and each grain is flavored.

Equipment: pot

Number 8: Mashed swede with butter

1. Peel and cube swede.
2. Boil until soft.
3. Mash with white pepper and a large amount of butter until golden, sweet, earthy.

Number 7: Stuffing balls

1. Mix Paxo sage and onion stuffing with boiling water.
2. Cool enough to handle.
3. Roll into golf ball-sized rounds.
4. Optional additions: beaten egg (bind) and chopped bacon (richness).
5. Bake on a tray 30 minutes before roast.
6. Eat when outside crust is golden/crackling; inside soft.

Number 6: Chip shop curry sauce

1. Fry chopped onion.
2. Stir in curry powder and flour.
3. Add stock; add 1 spoonful mango chutney (or marmalade).
4. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Pour over chips.

Number 5: Roasted parsnips in dripping

1. Peel parsnips; quarter lengthwise.
2. Roast parsnips in beef dripping alongside potatoes (dripping is saved from last week’s joint).
3. Roast until caramelized: edges dark/sticky, centers soft/sweet.

Number 4: Pickled onions

1. Peel pickling onions.
2. Place into sterilized jars.
3. Cover with spiced malt vinegar and seal.
4. Wait until Christmas: onions become translucent, crunchy, sharp-tangy.

Served at: Boxing Day

Number 3: Carrots and sweet mash

1. Peel and cube equal amounts carrot and swede.
2. Boil together in the same pot until soft.
3. Drain and mash with butter, salt, and white pepper.
4. Carrots sweeten; swede adds body.

Number 2: Yorkshire puddings

1. Make batter from flour, eggs, milk.
2. Rest batter while you heat the oven.
3. Preheat muffin tin with 1 teaspoon dripping in each well until fat is smoking.
4. Pour batter in quickly; close oven door immediately.
5. Bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden.
6. Cool on a wire rack (described).

Number 1: Bread and butter

• Slice white bread, butter it, serve at the center of the table as a universal accompaniment to many meals.

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Equipment & prep cues (from subtitles)

• Pyrex dish for cauliflower cheese.
• Grater/box grater for cheddar (mentioned as effort).
• Muslin cloth for peas pudding.
• Sterilized jars for pickled onions and pickleilly.
• Muffin tin preheated with dripping for Yorkshire puddings.
• China jug for mint sauce serving (small jug mentioned).
• Timing cues:
  • Yorkshire batter rests while oven heats; fat must be smoking.
  • Stuffing balls baked 30 minutes before the roast comes out.
  • Bread sauce uses lowest heat for 20 minutes.

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Chef tips / key technique cautions / common “don’ts” mentioned

• Bread sauce: use the lowest heat and let it sit; add butter at the end for gloss.
• Mushy peas: soak overnight with bicarbonate; stir hard to balance smooth + chunky.
• Yorkshire puddings: don’t open the oven door (keeps rise).
• Onion gravy: fry onions until truly dark brown/sweet (about 20 minutes); simmer until it coats a spoon.
• Parsley sauce: fresh parsley only; dried parsley tastes “of hay.”
• Cauliflower cheese: grill until top blisters and sauce bubbles at edges.
• Pickled items: allow time (overnight salt for pickleilly; weeks/months for pickled onions; “hours” for beetroot color change).
• Champ: butter should be pooled/melting in the center when served (presented as a “rule”).

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Plating / serving suggestions (as described)

• Bread sauce served beside Christmas turkey and Sunday chicken (in a jug).
• Mushy peas served beside fish and chips (Friday) and pork chop (Wednesday).
• Pickled beetroot served with cold cuts, in sandwiches, then in salads through the week.
• Cauliflower cheese served as a whole meal; for 4–5 people, with crusty bread to mop sauce.
• Champ served as a mound with a well of melted butter.
• Parsley sauce served in a jug next to boiled gammon, poached fish, or broad beans.
• Bubble and squeak patties served beside cold meat or a fried egg.
• Pickleilly spooned beside … (text cut off in the source summary)