Modern Recipes

Scrambled quail eggs with mini cocktail sausages and deep fried potato skins If you are in the UK and you think of sausages, egg and chips, you will not probably conjure up in your mind an image much like the one above! You are more likely of course to think of chips, bangers and a fried egg. While this dish is very different, it is essentially however still sausages, egg and chips. It came about in the first instance when I was thinking of a way to cook the remaining quail eggs I had from my recent gift pack (see an earlier post). I wanted to cook them in a way I had never cooked quail eggs before, so I decided to try them scrambled. Probably the main reason why we wouldn't automatically think of scrambling quail eggs is because they are of course so small. I used eight of them in this dish and the resultant scrambled egg quantity probably wasn't even as much as would be provided by two chicken eggs. As the eggs are so small, I decided to use small cocktail sausages to serve w...

Fresh cod fillet in Tennent's Lager batter with homemade chips A fish supper (deep fried fish in batter with chips) bought from a fish and chip shop in Scotland will normally consist of haddock deep fried in a plain flour, water and salt batter. While I do love haddock, I've got to be honest in that personally I prefer cod (I actually genuinely do prefer the sustainable options represented by pollack or whiting to either - but that's another story for another day). Like many lovers of fish and chips prepared this way, I also like the fish fried in a good beer batter and what better to use for a Scottish fish and chips platter in the batter than Scotland's favourite lager, Tennent's.   Freshly caught cod There is nothing better for fish and chips of course than freshly caught fish. This beautiful codling was caught from a charter boat out of Eyemouth on the East Coast of Scotland before being filleted at home for a late dinner. Tools for filleting cod When I'm fi...

Scottish salmon poached in cider is served with hard boiled quail eggs salad Poaching is definitely my favourite way of cooking salmon. It is important, however, not to let the poaching liquid boil. The way I poach it is by adding the salmon to the cool liquid and seasonings, bringing it up to only the slightest signs of a simmer before turning the heat off to let the salmon cook to juicy, succulent perfection as the liquid cools. The seasonings you add to the liquid with the salmon are of course endlessly variable but this combination works - I believe - especially well. Fresh Scottish salmon fillet Ingredients (Serves One) 1 fresh salmon fillet, skin on 1 small carrot, washed, topped and roughly chopped 1/2 small red onion, peeled and roughly chopped 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon dried dill Salt 1/2 pint cider 1 pint cold water 4 fresh quail eggs 2 generous handfuls mixed salad leaves of choice Fresh cress to garnish Salmon poaching flavourings Directions Lay the salmon fillet skin side do...

Smoked mussels on Stornoway white pudding with salad Black pudding is popular throughout the UK and in many other countries in similar form, often under different names. While white pudding may not be so widely known, it is a very delicious alternative to black. Black pudding with scallops is a popular starter or appetizer in Scotland and it was that dish which inspired this creation. The Loch Fyne smoked mussels were part of the goodie bag gift I covered in my previous post and these were the last two pieces of genuine Stornoway white pudding I had in my freezer. Stornoway white pudding Ingredients (Serves One) 2 slices of Stornoway white pudding (fully defrosted, if applicable) Oil for frying Generous handful mixed salad leaves 6 Loch Fyne smoked mussels in vegetable oil Couple of teaspoons of the oil from the mussels to dress the salad Starting to fry white pudding Directions Pour a little oil in to a non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Lay the white pudding slic...