Angličtina s jazykovou školou Elvis: Večeře ve Spojeném království

Jazyková škola Elvis poskytla portálu HR News sérii článků s anglickými slovíčky a frázemi na témata gastronomie, cestování a pobývání v anglicky mluvících zemích, pro praktické použití při cestování a pobytech v anglicky mluvícím světě.

Texty odpovídají jazykové úrovni B1 – středně pokročilí.

Dinner in The United Kingdom and The United States

Most people recognise dinner as an evening meal which is considered the main one. However, traditions kept in many countries tell us that dinner as the main meal of the day is served at noon and not in the evening and that is why the connection between an evening meal and dinner is not always generally true.  Nonetheless, in English-speaking cultures dinner or ¹⁾supper are served in evening hours.

Since lunch is more or less a sandwich sometimes eaten with fruit, dinner could be far more ²⁾nourishing and ³⁾filling.

The traditional English dinner consist of meat and vegetables such as Brussel sprouts, carrots and last but not least potatoes covered in gravy. You would rarely find such dinners in the English-speaking world nowadays. Most likely you will get something from other traditional cuisines such as Indian, Chinese, Thai or Italian. A lot of curry is consumed too. ⁴⁾Takeaway food became very popular in the 90’s because it’s quick, tasty and for a reasonable price. You just go to a small shop with a counter and almost nothing else besides the menu located above the assistants’ heads. You order and pay, wait and carry your food home where you can savour and enjoy the ⁵⁾toothsome bites of exotic dishes.

The pace of peoples’ lives occasionally allows them to cook for themselves so any kind of ready-to-serve food is highly in demand.

A lot of fast food is consumed as well, for example in the USA, you will definitely come across meat and potatoes of various styles that dominate dinner plates: be it hamburger and chips, fried chicken with ⁶⁾mash potatoes, or steak with baked potatoes.

Everything mentioned above indicates that eating habits have worsened over the past few decades in terms of content, time we devote to food and way of processing food. Something that people view as normal could be defined as dangerous to our body and our future health. There are movements that ⁷⁾strive to teach people what is good for them and what is not when it comes to gastronomy and types of food they ⁸⁾take in.

Why not serve something beneficial for your body like Rainbow Pepper Couscous. Here is a recipe you can try and is easy to follow:

• Heat the olive oil in a medium ⁹⁾saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and shallots and cook, ¹⁰⁾stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Add 2/3 cup water, the bell peppers, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste, bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the peppers just begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir in the couscous, immediately cover and remove from the heat. Let stand, covered, until the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender, about 7 minutes.
• Transfer to a platter or large bowl and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.

 

¹⁾ supper – malá večeře, může namísto dinner anebo po ní

²⁾ nourishing – výživné

³⁾ filling – syté

⁴⁾ takeaway – k odběru s sebou (zabalené jídlo, které se veme a sní doma)

⁵⁾ toothsome – lahodné

⁶⁾ mash potatoes – bramborová kaše

⁷⁾ strive – usilovat o něco

⁸⁾ take in – přijímat, konzumovat

⁹⁾ saucepan – hrnec

¹⁰⁾ stir - míchat