Showing posts with label Scottish food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scottish food. Show all posts
What a breathtakingly beautiful country, especially when you get away from the cities and in the Highlands. We stayed at a hotel in the Trossachs National Park which is in the middle of the Highlands and it was gorgeous there.
I remember one day we were driving along this winding road which closely followed the edge of a ravine on one side and we were able to see down into the ravine and see some deer and a stag walking along the side of the creek in the bottom of the ravine. Stunning doesn't begin to cover it.
I am ashamed to say that I did not try Haggis. I was not brave enough, but I had myself a wee bracing bowl of real Scottish oats for breakfast every morning. Did you know that the Scots like salt on their oatmeal? I prefer brown sugar.
One thing that I really enjoyed was the baked goods in Scotland. The Oatcakes were superb, especially with a bit of cheese.
They grow the most delightful raspberries in Scotland and I got to enjoy them in a delicious dessert called Cranachan. Composed of toasted oats, cream, whisky and raspberries, it was a real pleasure.
That was such a fun trip. I loved their sweet also. Of course there was the shortbread, which was magnificent, and Ecclefechan tarts (similar to Canadian Butter tarts, but with more fruit.) My favorite of all, however, was these Scottish Fern Cakes, which are actually not a cake at all but lovely little tarts.
They were very similar to Bakewell Tarts. I do love me a good Bakewell Tart. What you have here is something quite like that with a crisp pastry base, a layer of sweet raspberry jam and then an almond frangipane on top.
After baking, they are glazed over with a thick sugar glaze and then traditionally they have a fern drizzled on top of the glaze of chocolate, but I have chosen to do the fern (however poorly) with a green glaze icing instead.
I adapted the recipe from the original recipe which was found on Christina's Cucina to make a much smaller batch. The original recipe made 12 tarts, I have made only 6.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SCOTTISH FERN CAKES
I am thinking that most people will already have what they need in the kitchen to make these. I have taken the liberty of using frozen tart shells to make mine, but feel free to make your own pastry if you wish.
- 6 frozen small tart shells, thawed (about 2 1/2 inches across)
- 3 tsp raspberry jam
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter
- 1/3 cup (57g) sugar
- 2/3 cup (57g) ground almonds
- 1 large free range egg yolk
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
For the icing:
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- milk to thin (about 1 TBS)
- drop of green food coloring to make the fern pattern
I used the Tenderflake frozen tart shells. You can find them in the freezer section of the grocery shops here in Canada. You could also use my recipe for butter/lard pastry which is very good. You will probably only need half the recipe to make these tart shells, but you can freeze the remainder in a disc, wrapped tightly in some plastic wrap and popped into a zip lock baggie.
It will keep for about six months and they you will have a single crust pie crust ready to go for whenever.
I did prebake my tart shells prior to filling them. I find it gives the tarts a nice crisp base. There will be no soggy bottoms here! (As Mary Berry would say!)
I used seedless raspberry preserves. I have diverticulitis and can't tolerate the seeds. Blackberry jam is also something with the Scots will use. Both are quite traditional. Don't be tempted to use too much as jam expands exponentially in the oven so a little bit does go a very long way.
I use the ground almonds that you can get at Costco. Kirkland brand. Ordinary salted butter and ordinary organic granulated sugar. For the icing I used the ordinary icing sugar you buy at the shops, and I always have full fat milk in my house so that is what I used in the glaze.
HOW TO MAKE SCOTTISH FERN CAKES
These are a real doddle to make and oh-so-tasty!
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Place the tart shells on a baking sheet and lightly prick the bottoms. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes while you make the filling.
To make the filling melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar, almonds, almond essence and the egg yolk until smooth and well mixed together.
Remove the tart shells from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
Place 1/2 tsp of jam in the bottom of each shell and then top with a heaped spoonful of the almond mixture to cover the jam. Do not overfill. It should come just to the rim of the crust.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes and golden brown. They should be set and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the foil tins.
To make the icing, whisk just enough milk into the icing sugar to give you a thick but runny drizzle. Divide the drizzle between each of the tarts to cover the tops. You should still have a bit left at the end.
Put a drop of green food coloring into the icing that is left. Using the tip of a spoon drizzle some of the green icing over the top of each tart in a fern pattern. Leave to set completely before serving or storing in an airtight container.
These are really REALLY delicious and such a simple bake. I enjoyed one with a hot cup of Mint Tea and then took some across to my friend Glenna across the road (who is also my cousin). She really enjoyed them also!
These would be perfectly at home on any tea time table, or for the holidays, or even for even "just because."
Some other Scottish treats I have baked here in my English Kitchen are:
SCOTTISH STEAK PIE FOR TWO - Tender chunks of beef in a rich beef gravy, topped with a beautifully flaky crust. This is delicious served with some parsley buttered boiled potatoes and a vegetable on the side.
SCOTTISH DUNDEE CAKE - This is one of my favorite fruit cakes. Rich and buttery with a white batter and filled with lots of dried currants. Flavored with orange zest and mixed spice and topped with blanched almonds, you can make this as either small cupcakes or a full sized fruit cake. Delicious!
Scottish Fern Cakes (small batch)
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 35 Min
A Scottish bakery classic, downsized for the smaller family. Delicious with a hot cup of tea!
Ingredients
- 6 frozen small tart shells, thawed (about 2 1/2 inches across)
- 3 tsp raspberry jam
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter
- 1/3 cup (57g) sugar
- 2/3 cup (57g) ground almonds
- 1 large free range egg yolk
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
For the icing:
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- milk to thin (about 1 TBS)
- drop of green food coloring to make the fern pattern
Instructions
- Preheat the oven t 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Place the tart shells on a baking sheet and lightly prick the bottoms. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes while you make the filling.
- To make the filling melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar, almonds, almond essence and the egg yolk until smooth and well mixed together.
- Remove the tart shells from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
- Place 1/2 tsp of jam in the bottom of each shell and then top with a heaped spoonful of the almond mixture to cover the jam. Do not overfill. It should come just to the rim of the crust.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes and golden brown. They should be set and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the foil tins.
- To make the icing, whisk just enough milk into the icing sugar to give you a thick but runny drizzle. Divide the drizzle between each of the tarts to cover the tops. You should still have a bit left at the end.
- Put a drop of green food coloring into the icing that is left. Using the tip of a spoon drizzle some of the green icing over the top of each tart in a fern pattern.
- Leave to set completely before serving or storing in an airtight container.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!!
One thing that the British do really well is pies. Especially their meat pies. And no small wonder that, they have some of the best meat in the world, especially their beef. It was really good, and I miss it.
A lot of the beef comes from Scotland. Aberdeen Angus Beef is very well known. Its a sturdier brand of beef cattle that produces meat with a higher content of fat marbling which makes for very tender and delicious beef.
There is beef from other areas, but I really loved the Scottish Beef.
I loved visiting Scotland when I was living in the UK. We were there several times, the last time being in the Highlands. Such beautiful countryside. I could see why they called Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia. It must have reminded the Scottish settlers very much of home.
I could have easily lived there. I had wanted to go back for another holiday and see more, but sadly that did not happen. Although my son did buy me a piece of Land at a castle in Scotland and I can call myself a lady because of that. A bit of a gimmick but hey ho!
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
I was wanting a steak pie at the weekend and thought I would make myself a Scottish Steak Pie. I adapted a recipe which I found on a page called Scottish Scran. It looked pretty good and used simple ingredients.
No haggis or sausages, etc. in this one, just plain old beef. I did not need a full-sized pie however, so I adapted it to a much smaller size which will feed 2 people generously, or 3 lighter eaters.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
As a homage to Scotland and to the Queen (who loved being in Scotland) I decorated it with a thistle on top. I was actually quite pleased with how the thistle turned out. I was channeling that scene in Braveheart where William Wallace gives a thistle to his girl.
I loved that film. I also love the Outlander series and I used to love reading romance novels which had Scottish Lairds as their love interests when I was younger. What can I say. I love a man in a kilt. Guilty as charged.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
Typically, this steak pie will be served in Scotland on New Year's Day, to help absorb all that alcohol from the Hogmanay celebrations I assume. I say serve it any time!! I can't think of any time a Steak Pie wouldn't go down well.
Especially when it is as easy and simple to make as this one, with its rich beef and gravy filling and crisp puff pastry lid! If something has puff pastry on top, I am all in!
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SCOTTISH STEAK PIE FOR TWO
Simple ingredients that most of us always have in our larder, freezer or refrigerator!
For the filling:
- 12 ounces (3/4 pound/340g) stewing beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 TBS plain flour
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup (240ml) good beef stock
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and black pepper to taste
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
You will also need:
- 1/2 sheet of all butter puff pastry
- 1 small free-range egg, beaten with a fork (for the wash)
I had a small round roast in the freezer that I thawed out and cut into cubes for this pie. It worked very well. You will want to use any kind of beef that is well suited to a long slow cook.
For beef stock I used some Campbells beef stock that comes in the carton.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
Some Scottish people do like to add sausages to their pie. I kept it simple and just used beef. Make sure you really brown it up nicely. This will not only add to the color of the gravy, but those caramelized juices also add plenty of flavor.
Worcestershire Sauce. Lea Perrins. I would not be without it in my kitchen. It is a kitchen essential ingredient. Pronounce that WOOSTER-SHER with a short "o" vowel sound not a long. It does not rhyme with Rooster which has a long "o."
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
The original recipe called for tomato puree. I wasn't opening a tin of tomato puree for 1/2 TBS and so I used tomato ketchup which worked beautifully. Dijon mustard. This seemed to be a bit odd but then I remembered Mary Queen of Scots was brought up in France, so it kind of made sense.
Do use "all-butter" puff pastry. It has the nicest flavor and does not taste artificial at all. I highly recommend. You won't need a full sheet, but some of it can be used to make decorations for the top of the pie.
You can brush the remainder of it with some egg, sprinkle with a sharp cheese, cut into strips and vila. Quick and easy cheese straws.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
HOW TO MAKE A SCOTTISH STEAK PIE FOR TWO
Nothing could be easier. This is simple to make but it does take a while as the steak needs to cook long and slow so that it becomes fork tender.
Toss your beef in a bowl, together with a bit of seasoning and the flour to coat. The flour will help to thicken the gravy.
Melt the butter in a deep skillet (with a lid) over medium high heat. When it just begins to foam add the beef cubes in one layer. Brown deeply on all sides. Add the onion, turn the heat down to medium and cook until the onion has softened.
Pour the stock over top. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and tomato ketchup. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Bring to a simmer.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
Partially cover and simmer over low heat for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender and the gravy has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper as needed. (If your gravy has not thickened, you can thicken it with a flour/water paste, stirring constantly until it thickens.)
Pour the steak filling into a pie dish and place onto a lined baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
Unroll your pastry. Cut a round out large enough to cover the top of your pie dish completely. (I use a saucer as a template.) Place on top of the filling in the pie dish. Crimp around the edges with a fork as desired and cut a few slits into the top with a sharp knife to vent. (You can decorate or not as you desire.)
Beat the egg with a fork until light. Brush this over top of the pie.
Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the pastry is well risen, golden brown and crisp and the filling is nice and hot.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
Spoon out onto heated plates and serve with your favorite potatoes and a vegetable on the side. Today I was wanting plain boiled potatoes with a bit of butter and parsley and I enjoyed some runner beans my sister had gifted me with.
Mashed potatoes goes very well (don't forget the Bisto gravy), as does chips, which would be more than traditional. Probably peas as well.
This was really delicious. The filling was tender and juicy and well flavored. The crust was perfectly crisp and flaky. Incredibly moreish. I really enjoyed this.
.JPG "Scottish Steak Pie")
You might enjoy a few other Scottish recipes I have on here:
SCOTTISH DUNDEE CAKE - My favorite of all the fruit cakes, this is a light-colored fruit cake studded with plenty of dried currants, raisins, citrus peel and the flavor of orange. Delicious. You can bake it as a full cake or as cupcakes. Topped with almonds.
SCOTTISH OAT CAKES - Drool worthy. Crisp and buttery, oaty and topped with flaked sea salt. Nice with a few bits of cheese on the side.
SCOTTISH SNOWBALL CAKES - Sort of like a Scottish whoopie pie of two vanilla cookies/cakes sandwiched together with some jam, rolled in a glace icing and then into flaked coconut. Delicious!
Scottish Steak Pie
Yield: 2-3 people
Prep time: 2 H & 45 MCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 3 H & 25 M
A small batch recipe for a heart-warming pie that is simple to make, uses very simple ingredients, and a delicious dinner option any time of the year.
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 12 ounces (3/4 pound/340g) stewing beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 TBS plain flour
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup (240ml) good beef stock
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and black pepper to taste
You will also need:
- 1/2 sheet of all butter puff pastry
- 1 small free range egg, beaten with a fork (for the wash)
Instructions
- Toss your beef in a bowl, together with a bit of seasoning and the flour to coat. The flour will help to thicken the gravy.
- Melt the butter in a deep skillet (with a lid) over medium high heat. When it just begins to foam add the beef cubes in one layer. Brown deeply on all sides. Add the onion, turn the heat down to medium and cook until the onion has softened.
- Pour the stock over top. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and tomato ketchup. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Bring to a simmer.
- Partially cover and simmer over low heat for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender and the gravy has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper as needed. (If your gravy has not thickened, you can thicken it with a flour/water paste, stirring constantly until it thickens.)
- Pour the steak filling into a pie dish and place onto a lined baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
- Unroll your pastry. Cut a round out large enough to cover the top of your pie dish completely. (I use a saucer as a template.) Place on top of the filling in the pie dish. Crimp around the edges with a fork as desired and cut a few slits into the top with a sharp knife to vent. (You can decorate or not as you desire.)
- Beat the egg with a fork until light. Brush this over top of the pie.
- Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the pastry is well risen, golden brown and crisp and the filling is nice and hot.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
I decided to bake Pitcaithly Bannock today in honor of Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight.
This is an annual celebration of all the best that Scotland has to offer from every corner of the country.
To honor it I chose to share a recipe of Historical import.
I have adapted the recipe from one in the book Scottish Baking, by Sue Lawrence. I picked it up a few years ago when we were in Scotland.
The original recipe was written by a Margaret Stewart in 1799, so its very old. She lived in the Manse in Erskine, near Glasgow, where her husband was minister.
One of my ancestors, Boyd McNayr was born near Glasgow, in the county of Lanarkshire in 1778.
His father was a soldier in the Kings Navy and he went with his father to the New World when he was 8 years old, so in 1786.
He was left with a family in Halifax, Nova Scotia, while his father went off to do Navy stuff. I can only assume he was in a ship wreck as his father was never seen nor heard from again.
When I saw the dates and origins of this recipe, I was particularly interested.
I can only assume that since Boyd was left with people in Halifax his mother was passed away and that he had no other family.
This must have been a sad little boy who had already faced many challenges in his life.
I like to think that he may have enjoyed slices of Pitcaithly Bannock with his mum as a small child.
It was known to be a type of celebratory type of Scottish shortbread biscuit, created to be served on special occasions.
The addition of caraway, orange peel and nuts was a very common place thing to do at that time.
Sugar would have been a luxury, and indeed these are not really sweet cookies.
Most of their luxurious flavour comes from the addition of caraway seed and orange zest.
Make sure your caraway seed is fresh, or you might just as well leave it out as it won't have much impact.
These are wonderfully crisp and buttery, with a bit of a sandy texture from the ground rice/rice flour.
You can make your own rice flour by blitzing raw rice in a food processor until finely ground, or in a spice/coffee grinder. Easy peasy.
They are very easy to make. You simply beat butter and sugar together until light and pale in colour.
I did mine by hand as I don't have an electric hand mixer and I didn't want to drag the stand mixer out from where it is stored.
Once you have achieved this you stir in the flour and rice flour, orange zest, caraway seed and a pinch of salt. I would do this by hand.
If it is over mixed you can toughen this delicate mixture. So best to do it by hand.
Once the soft dough is done, you press it into a prepared tin evenly, using floured hands. I tried to get it as evenly as I could.
You will need to prick it all over with a fork prior to popping it into a very slow oven.
Don't be too pedantic about the placement of these pricks . . . they bake out in the baking.
I went to the trouble of making a pattern with the fork and it all baked out, so it doesn't matter what it looks like . . . just prick it all over with a fork.
Dust it with more sugar and cut it into fingers or squares as soon as you take it out of the oven.
Once it has cooled it will be too late to do so.
You will be rewarded with beautifully crumbly, buttery, crisp shortbread fingers, wonderfully flavoured.
Pithcaithly Bannock
Yield: Makes 24 servings
A Scottish type of shortbread which was considered to be very festive and would often be decorated with large caraways and orange peel. You can bake it in a round and cut it into Petticoat Tails or bake it in a Swiss roll pan such as I have done and cut it into fingers. Either way it goes down a real treat with a hot cuppa!
ingredients:
- 225g butter, slightly softened (1 cup)
- 100g golden caster sugar, plus more for dusting (1/2 cup)
- 200g plain flour, sifted (1 1/2 cups all purpose, less 4 tsp.)
- 100g rice flour/ground rice (2/3 cup)
- pinch salt
- 1 heaped tsp of caraway seeds
- the finely grated zest of a small orange
- 40g finely chopped blanched almonds (7 1/2 TBS)
instructions:
How to cook Pithcaithly Bannock
- Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 2. Butter a 9 by 13 inch Swiss Roll tin and line the bottom with baking paper creating an overhang to help you lift the bannock out of the pan when you need to.
- Measure the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale. This will bake about 3 to 5 minutes. You can beat by hand as well, which will take roughly twice the time. Sift the flour and ground rice into the bowl. Add a pinch of salt and the orange zest and almonds. Stir to bring together into a soft dough. Don't over mix. Using floured hands press this into the prepared tin in an even layer. Prick all over with the tines of a fork.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until uniformly pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and dust with more caster sugar. Cut with a sharp knife into squares or fingers. Let cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
Stored in an airtight container these will keep for days and days. If anything they get better tasting as the days progress. They would indeed be very pretty at Christmas time with a bit of icing on top and some sprinkles, or even bits of candied cherry. In any case, Happy Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight!!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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