This Simple Dish Princess Diana Loved Is One You've Probably Never Tried

Beyond the spotlight and intrigue, the British royal family is no different from us commoners in more ways than one. Case in point: The members of the royal family also have favorite foods. Prince William can't get enough of roast chicken, while Prince Harry is a big fan of banana ice cream. However, not every favorite is as down-to-earth as those picks. 

The princes' grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, had a decidedly unrelatable guilty pleasure — a bunless venison burger stuffed with cranberries. Their mother, Princess Diana, would come second in that regard, as she had a complicated relationship with food. After overcoming bulimia, the late royal embraced a health-conscious diet. 

This meant eating typical royal dishes but without the fatty components. One simple dish she loved, and which most people probably haven't tried, was tomato mousse. It's made with pureed and chilled tomatoes, and often mixed with savory herbs and a fat like sour or heavy cream. According to former royal chef Darren McGrady, tomato mousse was often served at state banquets, and soon became one of Lady Di's favorites. 

She liked it so much that when she had lunch with Oprah Winfrey, she requested her personal chef to serve the dish. However, since she was on a fat-free diet, she asked McGrady to make two versions of the appetizer: a regular one for Winfrey and a fat-free variety for herself. However, she rather cheekily left out this last bit of information, and even told Oprah that she was only eating small portions when asked how she kept so slim, despite having access to such delicious foods.

For Oprah's 70th birthday in 2024, Darren McGrady brought Princess Diana's favorite dish back to the spotlight in a YouTube video where he discussed how he developed the recipe for the late royal. "When I became her chef, she was healthy eating, so I had to completely change the recipe," he wrote in the video's description. However, it is worth noting that he didn't actually alter the recipe in a major way. It still used the same ingredients; McGrady only had to swap out the mayonnaise, cream cheese, sour cream, and chicken broth to make the fat-free version. All the rest of the ingredients, including the ripe tomatoes, onion, tomato paste, unflavored gelatin, lemon juice, ground pepper, and dill, remained the same.

Modifying recipes to match Lady Diana's preference was nothing new to McGrady. He previously revealed the unique way the People's Princess loved to eat her potatoes: crispy-skinned and paired with sliced chicken breast. In his book "Eating Royally," McGrady also wrote about the tomato mousse recipe, noting that apart from making it fat-free, Diana also preferred the savory, chilled dish served with a perfectly cooked lobster tail and watercress salad. Considering that the regular version of tomato mousse is made with full-fat mayo, sour cream, and cream cheese and served with such delectable sides, it makes sense why Oprah was stunned to know that Lady Di indulged in such a dish guilt-free.