Best Scottish Recipes?

Question

I am going to introduce my boyfriend to my heritage...we are doing a little get to know each other thing...silly, I know. Anyways, I want some ideas for a full meal, complete with beverage and dessert. Hopefully ya'll wouldn't mind parting with your recipes. Can anyone help?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I love Scotland and all that is Scottish. So here is my collaboration for you fun.

Abernethy Biscuits

Ingredients:

8 oz plain flour

3 oz caster sugar (granulated will do)

3 oz butter

Half a level teaspoon baking powder

Half a level teaspoon of caraway seeds

One tablespoon milk

One standard egg

Method:

Sift the flour and baking powder and rub in the butter until it is thoroughly mixed. Mix in the sugar and caraway seeds and then add the egg and milk to make a stiff dough.

Roll the mixture on a floured surface until it is the thickness required for a biscuit/cookie. Cut out with a three-inch plain cutter, rolling the trimmings to make more, as required. Prick the top of the biscuits with a fork and place on greased baking trays (cookie sheets) and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5 for ten minutes until golden brown. After they have cooled, store in an airtight tin (unless you can't resist eating them all immediately!)

"Auld Reekie" c**k-a-Leekie Soup

The "Auld Reekie" does not refer to the soup being "smokey" but to the origins of the recipe in Edinburgh which used to be called Auld Reekie in the days of coal fires. c**k-a-Leekie soup makes a regular appearance in Scottish kitchens but this variation has a special ingredient - Scotch whisky! It will, as the say, "stick to your ribs".

Ingredients:

3lb boiling chicken (giblets removed)

3 slices of streaky bacon

1lb shin of beef

2 lb leeks

1 large onion

5 fluid ounces Scotch whisky

4 pints water

1 level tablespoon dried tarragon

Salt and pepper

8 pre-soaked prunes (optional but traditional!)

Method:

Mix the whisky, tarragon and sugar in the water. Chop up the bacon and place the chicken, bacon and beef in a large bowl and pour over the whisky marinade. Leave to soak overnight. Place the chicken etc in a large soup pot. Chop up the leeks (reserve one) and onion and add to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for two hors, removing any scum as required. Remove the chicken from the pot, remove skin and bones. Chop the meat into small pieces and return to the pot. Cut up the shin of beef, if required. Add the prunes and the last chopped leek and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. It will serve up to eight people.

Chicken in the Heather

Here is a simple recipe using clear heather honey and other flavours to create a tasty roast chicken dish. While heather honey is the best, other clear honey will suffice.

Ingredients:

One whole chicken, minus giblets

3 fluid ounces (90ml or under half a cup) light cooking oil

4 fluid ounces (125g or half cup) clear heather honey

Salt and pepper (freshly ground black pepper if you have it)

3 ounces (100g) French mustard

Half teaspoon curry powder (yes, curry powder)

One clove chopped garlic

Method:

Place the chicken in an oven-proof casserole dish. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Cover the dish and cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F/190C/Gas Mark 4 for an hour. Baste the chicken thoroughly with the juices and sauce and return to the oven for another half hour uncovered. The chicken will brown as a result. Serve with boiled or creamed/mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables.

Oatmeal Potatoes

Here is a good but simple way to liven up the serving of potatoes - using one of Scotland's traditional ingredients - oatmeal. While pin-head oatmeal (the kernel has been cut in half and the floury meal taken out) any rough oatmeal (such as that used for real porridge) will do.

Ingredients:

Potatoes (new ones are best)

2 tablespoons pinhead oatmeal

1 tablespoon butter

Method:

Boil your normal quantity of potatoes in the usual way. While they are cooking, toast the oatmeal slowly on a tray in the oven using a low/medium heat. Drain the potatoes and add the tablespoon of butter. Stir to allow the butter to coat the potatoes. Then add the toasted oatmeal and stir again. Serve the potatoes with a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley or chives.

Caledonian Cream

Here is a refreshing dessert which uses marmalade, a popular ingredient in Scottish cooking since its invention in Dundee in 1797.

Ingredients for the cream:

4oz cream cheese (about half a cup)

4 fluid ounces double cream (about half a cup)

1 tablespoon marmalade (thick, bitter marmalade is suggested but use what you have)

2 tablespoons brandy or rum

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Sugar to taste

Ingredients for base:

4 oranges, segmented and the pith removed

Method:

Blend all the ingredients for the cream in a liquidiser till smooth. Place the oranges in four long-stemmed glasses and, if you want, add a teaspoon of brandy (or rum) to these. Add the cream on top. Garnish with some orange zest (boil for a few minutes in water to reduce the bitterness). Serve chilled.

Ginger Wine

Ginger wine has been a popular drink for cold winter's nights - or as an addition to whisky to make a "Whisky Mac". This recipe is adapted from the original published in Mrs Beeton's famous work and makes 4.5 litres (8 pints).

Ingredients:

4.5 litres (8 pints) water 1.4 kg (3 lb) sugar One lemon - zest and juice 1 tsp fresh yeast 110g (4 oz) raisins, stoned and chopped 40g (1½ oz) ginger, peeled and bruised 75 ml (2½ fl oz) brandy

Method:

Add the water, sugar, lemon zest and bruised ginger to a very clean saucepan. Bring to the boil, simmer for 1 hour. Remove any scum and transfer to a large bowl. When it is luke-warm, add the yeast and leave overnight.

Next day, strain the lemon juice and add to the mix along with the chopped raisins. Place everything in a suitable vessel.

Stir the wine every day for 14 days. Add the brandy. Stop the vessel down by degrees and in a few weeks it will be ready to bottle.