Ploughman’s Lunch is a a very British and extremely popular pub lunch item. A meal consisting of cold meats, cheese, bread, pickle and of course, beer. It’s like a picnic on plate.
All week I’ve been bringing you the recipes that make up the Ploughman’s lunch. First this week was English pickle relish, then English pickled onions. As you can see, there’s been a lot of pickling going on around here! Now, it’s time to learn about what makes a Ploughman’s lunch and where it came from…
What’s in a name?
First, a little history lesson. In typical British fashion, the origin has much been debated. Only dating back to the 1960’s (which is really new by British standards!), it is said that it was devised as a marketing tactic by the English Cheese and Milk Marketing Board to promote the sale of cheese in pubs. However, it was also mentioned in the 1837 book Memoirs of the life of Sir Walter Scott by John G. Lockhart, but it was a very vague reference as ‘a lunch for a ploughman.’ So nothing really ground-breaking for the history books, but historic nonetheless.
The necessary components
The components to the lunch are quite specific, there must be a couple of semi-hard cheeses, English of course. Bread, ham and some pickle elements like pickled relish and pickled onions. Secondary, optional items could be sausage rolls or a Scotch egg (a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, breaded and fried). Peppery radishes add a nice fresh crunch as well as celery and cherry tomatoes for a sweet colorful bite. You could also add English mustard. To drink? A nice, foamy ale or stout beer, of course. It is English after all.
The Ploughman’s lunch is a perfect meal to eat on a warm Summer day sitting outside of the pub on picnic benches enjoying the rare warm sun and drinking a nice cold (yes, we do drink it cold) beer to wash it all down. Cheers!
If you’ve tried this Ploughman’s Lunch or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
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Ploughman's Lunch
A meal consisting of cold meats, cheese, bread, pickle and of course, beer. It's like a picnic on plate.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ham
- 2 ounces English stilton cheese
- 2 ounces English cheddar cheese
- 6 slices good quality crusty bread
- English pickled onions
- English pickle relish
- 4 whole radishes
- 2 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 2 sticks celery cut into bite size pieces
- English mustard
- 2 bottles British beer
Instructions
- Arrange all the meat, cheese and vegetables onto a wooden cutting board.
- Put the pickled onions, pickle and mustard in small bowls.
- Pour beer into beer glasses, serve and enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Amount Per Serving:Calories: 291 Saturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 43mg Sodium: 648mg Carbohydrates: 2g Protein: 13g
Sophie King says
OK, my parents are visiting me from England next week and I’m making this for them. I’ve made the pickle and bought the onions because I didn’t have time. my dad is going to freak, he loves branston pickled. can’t wait to see their faces 🙂
Janette says
Awww this is lovely. Come back and tell me what they thought.
Nettie Moore says
My favorite way to eat lunch, so fresh and delicious! Nettie
Brandi says
Interesting. I’ve never had a pub meal but I am ready to try this delicious feast
April J Harris says
This is such a classic here in the UK, Janette! There is nothing like a good Ploughman’s lunch – I love your homemade version – and especially the homemade pickle and pickled onions! Sharing on Facebook 🙂
Janette says
Thank you April. I miss all the foods of home so I have to make my own 🙂
Angela says
What a fantastic spread!! I love a casual and delicious meal and everything about this sounds so great!
Joanne T Ferguson says
What a great ploughman’s lunch and love the presentation Janette Pinned and shared
Catherine says
Der Janette, what a beautiful spread..this could be a meal in itself! xo, Catherine
Helen says
This is a GREAT post, Janette! It’s years since I’ve had a ploughmans but reading this made me feel all proud of English food traditions and want to go out tomorrow and find one of these and eat it outside a nice country pub (shame about the cool day predicted tomorrow though).
I must look back at your pickle and pickled onion recipes too! 🙂
Sarah Maison Cupcake says
This looks fantastic!
Sadly though in the UK it’s actually quite rare to see this on the menu anymore – I’m not sure why that is (it’s all Thai fish cakes and pulled pork these days) but hopefully they’re due a revival because a good ploughman’s lunch is a very satisfying thing and goes beautifully with a pint of beer on a summer’s day.
And the traditional Great British pub itself is sadly a dying institution… dozens of them closing each week and only the ones that have turned themselves into upmarket restaurants seem to survive outside of touristy areas.
Nancy says
What a delicious spread. I love this!
Abigail H says
This all came together beautifully. Everything looks fabulous.
Michelle says
This looks like a wonderful lunch to me! And pickled onions…yes please!
Patricia says
I just loooove meals like these! The pickled onions & relish? Yum! (This was also a nice reminder to me that I’ve wanted to try Scotch eggs!)
Erica S says
This looks delicious Janette! That pickle relish in the middle looks especially awesome. That has just got to be sooo good with the cold cuts.
Janette says
It’s pretty tasty, thank you Erica
Janette says
Thanks
Vera Tomm says
I love a good pub meal. There are so many wonderful cheese options. What kind of British beer goes best in a Ploughman’s lunch? I think a dark ale would be a great choice for this.
Ashley K says
Love everything in this Ploughman’s Lunch! And I love the history behind it! Need to try it! I often make similar lunch (week day, when I’m by myself), but I use whatever ingredients I have! Love Stilton cheese!
Janette says
It’s my favorite way to eat. Thank you Mira.