How to Make a Ploughman's Lunch (2024)

Looking for a simple but brilliant way to entertain? Try making a ploughman's lunch. It's a perfect appetizer, as it's quick to prepare and easy to share. Its robust flavors and satisfying textures make it great for a crowd.

Round out your ploughman's with thick slices of Lincolnshire plum bread and homemade sausage rolls.

About

This type of lunch was originally packed for ploughmen to take out in the fields in the English countryside. It can be served cold, and is meant to be hearty enough to satisfy their large appetites.

In the beautiful English countryside where farmers or ploughmen would work out in their fields,each man needed to pack a lunch for the day, so bread, cheese and pickles were commonly used. A book entitled Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott dated 1837 had mentioned this type of lunch.

After the rations from World War Two had lifted in England, the Cheese Bureau made this more popular in the 1960's in order to increase cheese sales. Local pubs would put their own spin on it for local patrons and tourists to enjoy.

Ingredients

Most of the ingredients for a ploughman's lunch can be purchased at your local grocery store, while some of the canned goods will be found in the international section or online. A good English cheese might be the hardest thing to find locally, but you can substitute with Irish or Welsh cheddar if needed.

• Bread: crusty white bread (like cob loaf or a bloomer), artisan, baguette or nutty multigrain
• Cheese: hard or semi hard English cheeses: Cheddar, Lancashire, blue cheese (Stilton)
• Basic Meat: baked ham cut into thick slices
• Additional Meat: British sausage roll, Scotch egg, hand raised pork pie, pâté
• Chutney: Branston pickle, ploughman's pickle, tomato chutney, or piccalilli (pungent, vinegary, earthy)
• Pickled Vegetables: onions, gherkins
• Additional Protein: boiled eggs
• Salad: watercress or arugula, radishes, celery, tomatoes
• Fruit: a thick slice of Lincolnshire plum bread and a sweet, crisp apple
• Condiments: English mustard, softened salted butter

Questions

How should the ingredients be presented?

• The best way is on a large wooden platter or cutting board.
• Slice the bread and boiled eggs.
• Have the pickled ingredients, chutney, onions, gherkins, and English mustard in serving bowls.
• Make sure the salted butter is spreadable.
• Cut the cheese in wedges or slices.

Is a ploughman's lunch healthy?

If you limit your portions of bread, butter and cheese, it can healthy. The traditional menu is full of muscle building protein from the ham, heart healthy fats from the cheese, and fiber from the fresh fruit and vegetables.

What are the calories for one serving?

To calculate the nutritional facts for this recipe, one serving size has one large piece of crusty white bread spread with ½ tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of mustard, and 2 tablespoons of Branston pickle. Layer ⅓ cup of watercress with 50g of ham and 50g of Stilton to finish the sandwich.

On the plate, there is also half of a hard boiled egg, 2 gherkins, 2 pickled onions, 1 radish, 1 stalk of celery, and ¼ of an apple. The dessert, which is one thick slice of Lincolnshire plum bread, is not included in the nutrition facts.

One serving calculated according to the specifications above contains 388 calories, 17g fat, 41g carbs, 15g sugars, and 13g protein. (For more nutritional information, please scroll to the end of the recipe card.) Remember, this lunch is meant to be filling, as it was designed for a hungry man working in the fields.

How long will this keep?

Since this recipe has meat, eggs and cheese, it's best not to let those ingredients sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If there are any leftovers, wrap them up separately and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Any leftover bread can be placed in a zip top bag and placed on the counter or in the freezer.

How to Make

Start by selecting the cheeses you would like to serve. A hard or semi hard British cheese would be perfect, if you can find one at your local grocery store.

In this photo shoot, we used a strong Stilton and an extra sharp Welsh cheddar. Let the cheese warm up to room temperature by taking it out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving.

Next, grab some crunchy vegetables to munch on, add to your sandwich, or make into a salad. Radishes, celery, tomatoes, and watercress provide lots of color and flavor.

Thick slices of ham provide protein along with some hard boiled eggs. If more protein choices are desired, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, or a hand raised meat pies would perfect additions.

It wouldn't be a ploughman's lunch without something pickled: gherkins, pickled onions, and a strong chutney, like Branston pickle or ploughman's pickle are must-haves.

Round off your meal with a nice crusty white or whole grain bread to build your sandwich, and slather on soft butter and Coleman's mustard. Don't forget your fruit; a sweet apple cut into wedges is light and crunchy.

For dessert, include a couple thick slices of homemade Lincolnshire plum bread spread with salted butter and, if desired, honey.

Variations

• Need this gluten free? Use gluten free bread and Heinz ploughman's pickle.
• Don't have Colman's mustard? Use regular yellow mustard mixed with horseradish.
• Don't have time to make Lincolnshire plum bread? Use raisin bread instead.

Pro Tips

• Pick something sweet (apple), sour (chutney and pickles), and salty (cheese and meat).
• Have enough choices so every guest can graze happily.
• Include all seven ingredient categories: bread, cheese, meat, pickled veggies, additional protein, salad, fruit, and condiments.
• Artfully arrange it on a large wooden platter.
• Serve all the ingredients cold or at room temperature.

Recipe