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AI-generated photograph: A ploughman's board on pale wood: thick slabs of golden mature Cheddar, torn crusty bread with a curl of butter, crisp apple quarters, halved red cherry tomatoes, radishes with green tops and a heap of bright pink pickled onions

Home · Recipes · Ploughman's plate with quick pickled onions

British · Lunch

Ploughman's plate with quick pickled onions

mature cheddar · crusty bread · pink pickled onions

AI-generated photograph

The great British pub lunch at home: mature Cheddar, crusty bread and butter, crisp apple, radishes and tomatoes, with bright pink onions pickled in lemon while you lay the plates.

Contains: milk and cereals containing gluten, as written. Of the 14 allergens, this recipe contains milk (Cheddar and butter) and gluten (the bread, made from wheat). Check the Cheddar is made with vegetarian rennet if you need it vegetarian.

Ingredients

  • 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 200g vegetarian mature Cheddar
  • 1 small crusty white bloomer loaf (about 400g)
  • 40g unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 little gem lettuces
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 8 radishes
  • 2 crisp eating apples, such as Cox or Braeburn

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Let's cook

  1. Make the pickled onions first, as they need 15 minutes. Put the onion in a small bowl with the lemon juice, sugar and salt. Scrunch together with your fingers and leave to sit, stirring once or twice. The onion turns bright pink and loses its harsh bite.
  2. Take the cheese out of the fridge so it is not fridge cold when you eat it: cheese tastes of much more at room temperature. Cut it into thick slabs or rough chunks.
  3. Cut the bread into thick slices or tear it into chunks. Put the butter in a small dish for spreading at the table.
  4. Separate the little gem leaves, wash and dry them. Halve the cherry tomatoes and trim the radishes, leaving a little of the green tops on.
  5. Just before serving, cut the apples into quarters and cut out the cores (cut apple turns brown if it waits).
  6. Arrange everything on 4 plates or one large board: a pile of lettuce leaves, the cheese, the bread with a pat of butter, the apples, radishes and tomatoes, and a heap of the pink pickled onions, drained of their juice.

Tips

  • A good ploughman's is about contrast: something rich (cheese), something sharp (pickled onion) and something crisp and fresh (apple, radish, lettuce).
  • The pickled onions keep in a jar in the fridge for 4 days.

Swaps

  • Vegan: use a vegan cheese and a dairy free spread. Check the packets, as some contain soya or nuts.
  • Gluten free: use gluten free bread.
  • Add a spoon of chutney or pickle. Most contain vinegar, which can contain sulphites (and gluten if it is malt vinegar), so check the jar.

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Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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The British meal plan