Modern Recipes

A Slightly Modern Twist on a Classic Soup Recipe Homemade pea and ham soup I remember when I was a wee boy my Gran making a wide range of delicious homemade soups. Although she would sometimes use chicken or even beef as a base, more often than not the soup process would begin with a meaty ham end being boiled up to make stock. The meat from the ham end would ultimately be contained in the finished soup. She would often include dried split peas (soaked overnight) in the soup, as well as potentially a number of other dried pulses and fresh vegetables. In this soup recipe, I am using frozen peas. This is not simply for convenience but also because frozen peas contain all the locked in freshness of peas straight from their pod. I am also including a couple of not so commonly used vegetables as part of my modern little twist. The results - I promise you - were excellent.   Large piece of boneless ham It was when I came across this bargain piece of boneless ham in my local supermarket t...

Taking a Scottish Breakfast Favourite One Step Further Traditional Scottish rolls and sausage with cheese, beans, onion and tattie scone This was a total spur of the moment experiment which I'm please to say worked very well. My original intention was simply to have a couple of rolls and sausage for brunch one day last weekend but then I remembered I had a couple of tattie (potato) scones requiring to be used up.  Tattie scones are a common addition to rolls and suasage in Scotland of course (particularly in Glasgow and surrounding areas) but perhaps the only further common addition would be either tomato ketchup or brown sauce. I decided on this occasion to take matters a little bit further in the name of food experimentation and enhancement. Sliced sausages are firstly gently fried in oil Ingredients (Serves One) 2 sliced/Lorne sausage Vegetable oil for frying 2 tablespoons baked beans in tomato sauce 6 slices Scottish cheddar cheese, or as required 2 tattie scones 1/2 a small on...

Beef and Buckfast stew with mash and sauteed Savoy cabbage and onion Please, don't be put off by the title of this dish. Buckfast tonic wine is a pretty controversial product in West Central Scotland in particular and has been for many years - I know. I'm not getting involved in the intricacies of the Buckfast pros and cons but as a boy growing up in Lanarkshire, I had more than my fair share of "Buckfast sampling experiences." Never for a second though would I have believed that a couple of decades on from my last taste of the tonic wine would I be not only using it in a food recipe but sharing the results with a wider audience in this way. I hope you'll bear with me as I explain how this recipe came about and how delicious it actually turned out. In late 2014, I attended an event where venison and Buckfast stew was on offer, I suppose as a form of street food. I sampled the (pretty expensive!) stew and although it was very nice, I couldn't even begin to tas...

Haggis Sausage Rolls Haggis sausage rolls served with chive garnish A large plate of haggis, tatties and neeps or perhaps a Scottish steak and sausage pie is probably what most people think of when they think of meals for Burns Night. If you are simply eating at home, however, you may not want to go to the bother of preparing a formal meal and prefer instead to enjoy a loosely Burns themed buffet with your family and perhaps friends. These are just a few ideas for Burns themed finger food and nibbles that can be enjoyed informally in front of the TV. Prerolled puff pastry and single portion of haggis To make twelve of these little haggis sausage rolls, you will need a half pound (225g) haggis and three-quarters a pound (325g) pre-rolled puff pastry. Both should be removed from the fridge about twenty minutes before use to reach room temperature. You will also need a beaten egg for glazing the pastry and a little vegetable oil for greasing the roasting tray. Haggis meat is squeezed from...