Happy Christmas & Hogmanay from the Scottish Highlands
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Tag Archives: Scotland
Gather sustainably
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Unpacking the spoils from a recent trip to the parental homestead I was struck by just how much produce comes out of Mum Garcia-Macintyre’s Highland garden and kitchen: Everything from Wild Boar bacon and sausages to Jerusalem artichokes and marmalade. In fact, the farm to table philosophy is commonplace in Scotland and quite frankly, when frosty November delivers so much, why would you want a summer strawberry?
Not for bacon, Whitney pig and not yet for bacon, weaners. AKA Suckling Pig. In spite of some of my favourite London restaurants serving the latter, anything this small is surely too young. As the name suggests, said piglets are still feeding from their mum’s. And quite frankly, the difference in size between mother and and off-spring says it all. Spot the 3 day old bambino. #FarTooCute.
Curry night. Black Isle beef, beetroot and beer. Apple, (frozen) bramble & almond crumble. Recipe coming soon.
Netherton Farm (Mum’s) is also host to the local Community Garden, churning out Golden Ball turnips (as tasty as David Beckham), coriander seed, chillis and all the veg for Sunday’s roast. Breakfast courtesy of the hens, Whitney’s Wild Boar cross Tamworth off-spring (when grown!) and mum’s Spiced tomato relish.
Foraged elderberries for juice. Mum boils (poisonous otherwise apparently) and strains this “wonder berry” to have on hand for smoothies, veg juices, crumbles and just about anything she can get away with. Any wonder I’m now blogging wholesomely seductive tips?
Catch of the day. I even managed to bag some Golspie smoked salmon, netted in the traditional manner (definitely qualifies as Slow Food) from the Cromarty Firth in front of the house. Not part of mum’s ‘garden estate’ I hasten to add. This dense, smoky delicacy bares no relation to the slippery, insipid stuff from the supermarket. Served simply on Oliver’s Bakery rye with lemon and black pepper.
For more recipes and posts like this, type Netherton Farm into the Search box. See also Foraging for Scottish brambles & other things.
Orange, almond & chocolate cake
This is one of my all time favourite recipes: uber moist; sophisticatedly sweet and tangy; distinctively almondy. A cake for grown ups. Commonly used in Spanish and Moorish cakes, almonds bring so much more to the party than Bulk Out Flour, and they taste better. They’re filling, good for us, moist in baking and gluten free. The swapping of sugar for Agave is a trick I’m a tiny bit pleased with. Options are also given for sugar and Stevia (saccharine barf) FYI, though my preference on both taste and waistline would be Agave.
You can lose the choc drops for a more traditional recipe which is also sugar and dairy free. This cake is so devoid of bad stuff, in fact, you can even use it as an energy and protein pick me up for fitness training. I’ve baked in tartan cups as a nod to Edinburgh’s Brew Lab inspiration from last week.
Ingredients
3 medium oranges
4 tbsp Agave / 3 tbsp Stevia / 300g tbsp caster sugar
400g ground almonds
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp dark choc chips
For the syrup
2 oranges, juice of
2 tbsp Agave / 1 tbsp Stevia / 100g sugar
Method
Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4. Grease and line a 25cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper. Alternatively, you can make 8 – 10 individual cakes with muffin moulds or ANTA ovenproof cups.
Clean oranges, cover with water in a saucepan, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 mins. Cut into quarters, removing the seeds.
Transfer to a food processor (retaining the peel!) and blitz with 4 tbsp of the Agave or 300g sugar for about 30 secs. Add almonds, eggs and baking powder and puree for a few seconds before scraping down the sides and blitzing again until smooth – approx. 10 secs.
Fold through the choc chips and transfer into your greased tin. Bake for 50 or so mins. If opting for the muffin-sized cakes, cook for 20 mins. A knife should come out moist. Set your cake aside in the tin or cups for 10 mins.
Bring the syrup ingredients to the boil and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken. Prick the cake/s all over with a skewer and pour over the syrup. Leave to soak up all the juices.
Once cooled, remove and serve on a plate, or directly from your ANTA cups. Dollop with double cream.
The almonds will keep this cake moist for several days. In fact, it will go moldy before it goes stale. As an added bonus, almonds are also a Seducer, check out their charms here.
Edinburgh Eating: The Lowdown
I’m a big Edinburgh fan. Growing up in the Highlands with a large chunk of our relatives effectively defecting to the Lowlands, week-end trips south were a formative part of my childhood. Edinburgh’s not only one of the most beautiful cities architecturally, it’s also hugely inspirational from a food perspective. Independent restaurant concepts have long been embraced here and as a result, you’d be hard pushed to get through my pick of the best fuel stops in two days:
Timberyard’s Armani does Ski lodge style compelled me to congratulate the affable and obliging staff within approximately 3 seconds of entering the building.
Provenance and the Slow Food philosophy are king so expect Scottish ales and local ingredients; some from Ben (In House Forager); some from the back garden.
Urban Angels
Urban Angel’s chain of Wholesomely Seductive cafés are my breakfast, supper or train journey packed lunch staple.
Top picks: Smoked haddock, poached egg, hollandaise & tattie scone. Cooked to such creamy perfection I’ve since questioned why more cafes don’t feature as an alternative to the ubiquitous Eggs Benedict / Florentine clan…
The Goat’s cheese, caramelized onion quiche skimps not on the good stuff: Abundantly cheesy with sweet onion and a deliciously substantial pastry base. Lightened by the addition of fresh tang and crunch from Pineapple, fennel & sultana slaw. Not to be missed: Almond & honey Florentine. Trust me.
Ship on the shore
The Ship on the Shore in Leith (seaside Edinburgh) manages to impress not just Little Miss Fussy, but Hippy Mum and even the more traditional, OBE decorated, Edinburgh Great Uncle. Fish and shellfish at its best. With wild garlic, haggis mash, in a pint or just about any way you like it. This is a must tick when visiting Edinburgh. #intelligentcooking
While Starbucks is inevitably prevalent, it’s far outweighed by the long established and increasingly popular coffee shops who’s look is anything but that of a cookie cut corporate. And their coffee strong and smooth enough to cause a discerning Antipodean barista to weep.
Brew Lab
A stone’s throw from the university, Brew Lab leads the way, even securing colleague Paul’s much coveted high praise. Paul’s title reads: Gather & Gather Coffee Guru. And he’s Australian, of course. Following in the trend for ‘We’d Serve You From A Urinal If EHO Allowed It Styling’, Brew Lab’s exposed brick makes Havana’s perilously pinned together buildings look positively pristine.
The fresh mint tea (with egg timer) resulted in much jubilation from a non-coffee drinking colleague and the ridiculously tasty and rich Almond & cherry cake inspired me to covet my personalised Spanish version no longer. Next week I’ll bring you Orange, almond & chocolate cake: Uber moist; sophisticatedly sweet and tangy; distinctively almondy. A cake for grown ups.
Other Edinburgh hot spots: The Gardener’s Cottage, The Dogs, Peter’s Yard.
The jam co-operative
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I had an early induction on street food. Pioneering in nutrition, my mum would pitch up in a salubrious Black Isle (a peninsula on the Scottish Highlands) square every Saturday to sell home grown fruit and veg. Decent varieties of which were harder to come by without the use of the Inverness ferry (and a very long queue) in the, ahem, 1970s.
Not limited just to veggies, I’d help mum sell our home-made jams, chutneys, marmalades and spun wool (I kid you not) from the neighbour’s burger van. The rest of the week Pat would use said vehicle to supply highlanders with gourmet venison burgers; you see, we Scots don’t just eat deep fried Mars bars!
In those days street food was somewhat less en vogue; one well-heeled village resident promptly enlisted the local bobby to deal with the mobile people. I can only imagine the shame at Granny Mac’s charity lunches; wasn’t procreating with a Spanish drummer rogue enough? Mindful of his duties, our diligent PC promptly marched over to Mrs Garcia-Macintyre and with a broad Scottish accent, and a hint of a chuckle, demanded a passion fruit.
One area where Rebel Garcia and Matriarch Macintyre et al saw eye to eye though, was on the caliber of preserves we purveyed. With the help of a 1929 MAFF guide, mum’s marmalade at least, has never been cause for debate.
The Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries & Food, HMSO Bulletin 21: Home Preservation of Fruit & Vegetables.
Mother Garcia’s cherished (and sous chef crayoned) 1970’s copy talked her through jamming, canning and bottling in preparation for the winter months; and a Wholesome Seduction child is born.
Mrs Garcia now serves her wares, along with Netherton Farm eggs (more free-range than I feel is entirely necessary) with Wild boar cross Tamworth sausages and bacon at B&B Netherton Farm.
My Home-made soda & tahini bread, Wild boar cross Tamworth sausages, Netherton Farm eggs and Mum’s chutney.
It’s getting a little late in the day but you should still be able to get your hands on Seville oranges for MAFF Marmalade next week.
Foraging for Scottish brambles and other things
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What did our grandmothers do before UK supermarkets became an abundance of year round global crops? And what does seasonal really mean when we can freeze food? OK a summer fruit salad is probably best avoided in December, but frozen berries and purees mixed in recipes are surely just as good? In fact, compared with tasteless bananas picked while green for import, the freezer wins every time, in nutrients too.
Although our Netherton Farm bramble hunt proved disappointing, Mother Nature turned up other surprises that our grannies, and a 1929 MAFF guide, would never have allowed go to waste.
The Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries & Food, HMSO Bulletin 21: Home Preservation of Fruit & Vegetables.
Mother Garcia’s cherished (and sous chef crayoned) 1970’s copy talked her through jamming, canning and bottling in preparation for the winter months; and a Wholesome Seduction child is born.
Netherton Farm Foraging Finds:
Elderberries, lots of.
The post elderflower berry is a nutritional powerhouse. Note: they’re poisonous unless cooked. They won’t kill you, but chances are you’ll vomit them back up before any of their goodness has been absorbed.
Good for: A syrup for coughs or on ice cream; in smoothies, juices or Elderberry & Apple Jelly (jam), or just on top of yoghurt.
Too late for elderflowers, the homemade champagne will sadly have to wait till next year.
Sloes & Rosehips
Good for: Hogmanay Sloe Gin. And Rose-hip syrup – the UK’s pre Ribena answer to Vitamin C.
Brambles & Acorns
Good for: Bramble bircher. And feeding pigs. Look no further than Spain’s famous Pata Negra Jamón.
A (rarely seen) Fairy Ring
Good for: Fairies. They live inside the mushroom circles.
Wild Boar cross Tamworth piglets
Not entirely wild but in fact, largely dependent on Mum Garcia for food, and affection it would seem. Surprisingly needy mammals, pigs.
Good for: Pork belly, smoked bacon, sausages, Pork Pies, Pigs Cheeks with Apple & Cider… It really is my favourite meat.
3 weeks old
For the love of God! Do I really love pork belly that much? Yep, afraid so.
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A royal picnic: Shortbread hearts
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Makes 20 (ish)
Plenty of seduction, not a lot of wholesome (although this version’s impressively low in sugar). But some things are best savoured exactly as they are, butter included. And would you mess with an age old Scottish family recipe?
Ingredients
150g plain flour
30g semolina
120g unsalted butter, softened
30g caster sugar – lavender sugar’s also good, or the zest of a lemon
Method
- In a bowl or blender, mix butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in flour and semolina until you get to a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30mins.
- On a floured surface, roll to aprox 1cm thick and cut into heart shapes with a 1 – 2 inch cookie cutter.
- Place on baking trays lined with baking paper and chill in the fridge for a further 15 mins. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4.
- Bake for 15 – 20 mins, until lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack (carefully!), sprinkle with sugar and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container until picnic time.
Wrap in greaseproof paper and tie in place with some Union Jack ribbon. Serve alongside jars of the Rhubarb & cardamom compote with clotted cream.
A couple of teaspoons, and let everyone dig in for sweet and tangy bite sized Britishness.
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