Scotch woodcock is a British savoury dish consisting of creamy, lightly-scrambled eggs served on toast that has been spread with anchovy paste or Gentleman's Relish, and sometimes topped with chopped herbs and black pepper.[1][2]

Scotch woodcock
Scotch woodcock garnished with anchovy fillets and parsley.
Typesavoury, snack
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Created byUnknown
Main ingredientsEggs, toast, anchovy paste

Scotch woodcock was served in the refreshment rooms of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as late as 1949.[3] It was also served historically at the colleges of the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford[4] and it continues to be served at the Oxford and Cambridge Club as an alternative to sweet desserts or cheeseboard.

It was a well-known dish in the Victorian era, and is mentioned in Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management.[5]

The name is modelled on Welsh rabbit.[6] Similar to Welsh rabbit which contains no rabbit meat, the dish has no woodcock, a type of bird, in its ingredients at all.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Boxer, A. (2012). Arabella Boxer's Book of English Food: A Rediscovery of British Food From Before the War. Penguin Books Limited. p. pt301. ISBN 978-0-241-96167-4.
  2. ^ Herbst, R.; Herbst, S.T. (2015). The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion, 2nd edition. Barron's Educational Series. pp. pt872–873. ISBN 978-1-4380-7621-8.
  3. ^ Wilcox, J.H. (1949). "The kitchen and refreshment rooms of the house of commons". Journal of Parliamentary Affairs. III (2): 316–320. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a052613.
  4. ^ Aylmer, Ursula; Carolyn McCrum (2005). Oxford Food: An Anthology. Ashmolean Museum. p. 26. ISBN 1-85444-058-6.
  5. ^ Beeton, Isabella (2000). Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283345-6.
  6. ^ John Ayto, An A-Z of Food and Drink, Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 9780192803511 s.v. 'Scotch woodcock'
  7. ^ "French fries aren't French and other deceptively named foods". USA Today.