Scottish Culinary Delights

You knew that eventually I'd get around to Scottish food, right?

I have been known to tell folks who ask, that there really isn't any “Scottish Cuisine” – there's just sheep guts and oatmeal.

Ah but don't be afeart as my ancestors would have said.   There are some great Scots dishes that do not include organ meats -- if ye've a mind tae try 'em. It was the Scots wha gae us Orange Marmalade after a'.

Chef Ken's Faux Haggis

Real haggis is basically a sausage – minced sheep organ meats, oats, onion and a bit of nutmeg and salt crammed into a sheep's stomach and boiled into asubmission.

Since THAT description tends to turn off even many hard-core American Scots, I came up with a version which is much more palatable, containing the essential flavors – lamb, oats, onion and nutmeg. My Faux Haggis is basically a meatloaf that isn't browned.

1 lbs ground lamb

1 large white onion, diced

1 cup steel-cut oatmeal, not the smashed flat version

½ Tbsp fresh ground nutmeg

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 Egg, beaten

18” x 18” square of cheesecloth

Butcher's twine – ask your friendly local butcher for a couple feet.

Optional – Broth; chicken, beef, or vegetable

Combine the food ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands to combine everything well. You're basically making a meatloaf. Form the raw meat mixture into a log shape and roll it up in the cheesecloth leaving long-ish ends, which you then tie closed with the butcher's twine.  What you now have is essentially an uncooked sausage.

Slide the log into a loaf pan, on the large burner of your stovetop. Add water, or broth if you choose, to come about half way up the side of the log. Bring the broth to a simmer/low boil, and poach the log, turning every 15 minutes or so, for about 45 minutes. Use a thermometer to make sure the internal temperature gets to 155F before removing the haggis from the heat. Let the haggis set for 10 minutes before carefully unwrapping. Slice and serve with brown gravy and Tatties & Neeps.

Sliced Faux Haggis

Tatties & Neeps

Equal weights of cubed Potatoes (tatties) and Turnips (neeps),  boiled together with a pinch of salt and nutmeg. Smashed (coarsely mashed) together with a bit of butter.

Tatties & Neeps

Scones

One food that the Scots are most noted for is Scones. These quick breads are leavened with baking soda and/or baking powder. They can be light and airy or dense “rock cakes” depending on several factors.

Currant-Blueberry Griddle Scones

Think of these as very dense pancakes. These tasty pastries are in the relatively dense category, and have the added distinction of not being oven baked. Lightly spiced, these not-overly-sweet scones are simple to make – in less than 20 minutes.

2 cups AP flour

½ cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Black Cardamon seed

6 whole Allspice berries

1 stick cold Butter, cut into pieces

¼ cup Zante Currants

¼ cup dried Blueberries

Start heating the skillet to 325F. Put the dried fruit in a cup of hot tapwater to soften. Grind the cardamon and allspice in a mortar & pestle or coffee grinder.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices into a largish bowl. Cut the butter into the flour until it looks like granules. The best, but messiest, way to cut in the butter is rubbing the flour mixture into it between your fingers. Drain the fruit and add them to the flour, tossing to distribute evenly.

Beat the egg and milk together then pour it over the flour-fruit mixture. Stir the liquid in with a fork until it forms a soft dough. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 or 12 times. Divide into thirds. Pat each third into a 3/4” thick disk; then cut each disk into quarters or halves. Cook the scones 3-5 minutes per side until nicely browned. Then put on a cooling rack and cover with a tea towel for a couple minutes. Serve hot with a schmear of butter.

 Blueberry & Currant Scones

Blueberry Mango Scone Bread

This light and airy recipe yields two large 'loaves' approaching 12" in diameter, each of which will serve 8-10.

3 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and extra cold
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup blueberries
1 cup of mango, cubed.  Firm  ripe mango is better than soft juicy ripe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut cold butter into flour mixture until you get crumbles.  Fingers really are best for this.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg.  Add the lemon zest and juice, milk, blueberries and mango, and mix. Pour over flour mixture. Using a spoon, mix gently until well-combined.

Place half the dough on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and shape into a disc about 3/4” thick. Bake 25 minutes or until slightly darker than golden brown. Let cool until ready to handle. Cut into wedges and arrange on a platter.  Bake the other half od the dough likewise.  After cooling, the second disk can be covered with cling wrap and frozen, uncut.

Optional Glaze

To prepare the glaze, mix juice of about half a lemon and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.  You may need to adjust measurements to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over scones and serve