Modern Recipes

A Simple Vegetarian Equivalent to a Classic Scottish Soup Vegetarian cock-a-leekie soup sees the chicken replaced with potatoes I realise of course that the two principal ingredients of cock-a-leekie soup are chicken and leeks, so the idea of creating a vegetarian version may seem a little bit crazy. After all, how can it still be cock-a-leekie without one of the main ingredients? The reality is however that vegetarianism is significantly on the increase in today's world and it was after I shared a traditonal cock-a-leekie soup recipe on this blog a few months back that I gave thought to how I could create a vegetarian version. The obvious answer was to simply miss out the chicken but of course I had to replace it with something. Keeping it simple, I opted for potato and was delighted with the final result.   Baby potatoes and leek for vegetarian cock-a-leekie soup Ingredients (Serves 6) 3 pints fresh vegetable stock Stem only of one large leek 8 to 10 medium baby potatoes Salt an...

A Perhaps Unusual but Truly Delicious Way to Serve Scallops Griddle seared Scottish scallops, soured cream and chives on wholewheat toast If pristine Scottish scallops are to be enjoyed at their very best they must be cooked simply and ideally served simply. I know it's not always the case but there is a danger that this second consideration can lead to us being a little bit unimaginative when it comes to enjoying scallops. Bearing this in mind, I came up with this simple but hopefully unusual combination. I wasn't sure myself how it would work but I'm pleased to say I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope you'll give it a go. Fresh Scottish king scallops Ingredients per Serving 3 slices from a wholewheat bread stick 3 Scottish king scallops Scottish rapeseed oil for oiling scallops for griddling 1 tablespoon soured cream 1 teaspoon chopped chives plus extra to garnish Slices are cut from a wholewheat bread stick Directions Lightly toast the bread slices on both sides under...

A 100% Scottish Cheese Made in Traditional French Fashion Highland Heart cheese with salsa and duck egg on oatcakes When I was recently fortunate enough to win a Connage Highland Heart brie style cheese in a Twitter competition, I wasn't sure what to expect. Brie is a soft, mild, creamy French cheese and cheese production is of course a great source of national pride in France. Could this multi-award winning cheese from the far north of Scotland measure up to the only type of brie with which I was previously familiar? Well, I didn't have to wait long to find out as my prize was delivered within just a couple of working days. Although I was desperate to try the cheese, me being me, I didn't want to simply cut it open and eat it up with crackers and maybe a bit of apple and a few grapes. While I'm not for a second suggesting there's anything wrong with enjoying any cheese that way, I am a born experimentalist with food. I therefore took a few days to ponder some opti...