Scotch woodcock

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.
Type	savoury, snack
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Created by	Unknown
Main ingredients	Eggs, toast, anchovy paste
Media: Scotch woodcock

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

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".