WE are used now to the weird and wonderful body parts all those nose-to-tail offal eaters will tackle. But vegans – apart from communing with seitan – aren’t usually in the business of chasing beef flavours. So it was interesting to chew on ‘Leather Britches’, fourth course in Elnecot’s six course Vegan Tasting Dinner. It was a one-off event to celebrate the Ancoats neighbourhood kitchen making the shortlist in the veggie category of the 2018 Manchester Food and Drink Awards.
Chef/co-owner Michael Clay’s inventive menus encompass everything from crispy pig’s head croquettes and ale-braised ox cheek to disco cabbage and aubergine and mint balls. There's a constant nod to tradition, but usually focussed on Lancashire (Elnecot is an ancient name for Ancoats) rather than the Appalachians.
That’s where ‘Leather Britches’ originates. Poor folk’s food, preserving greens. Basically, like darning pants, you sew together green beans in their pods and sting them up to dry for a few weeks, on the back porch if you have one, to lose all their moisture and concentrate their umami (probably not common parlance in Knoxville or Greenville). Before cooking you rehydrate the brown remnants. Result – down home comfort victuals.
Quoted in the food website Savage and Sage, American telly chef Sean Brock enthused: “To make leather britches, you string pole beans—like a greasy bean or a turkey craw—with a needle and thread… The drying of the beans develops so much umami, it’s mind blowing. The potlikker that comes off these beans tastes like roast beef.”
Check out the step by step method on the site. Not sure where much travelled chef Clay sourced his. Whatever, his treatment was the highlight of his Vegan Menu. The flavour was intense, enhanced by his own oyster mushroom ketchup, crumbled hazelnut and charred leeks. Ancoats is a constant source of surprises these days.
Elnecot, 41 Blossom Street, Cutting Room Square, Manchester, M4 6AJ. 07496 152373.