Modern Recipes

Smoked venison, smoked mussels and quails eggs from Loch Fyne Oysters I've personally visited the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar many times over more years than I care to recall. This is usually when I am fishing Loch Fyne or quite literally passing right by it on my way to fish somewhere further up the West Coast of Scotland. Yesterday, however, it was family members of mine who were in the area and they very kindly brought me a small goodie bag containing some of the wonderful produce the fairly recently refurbished shop has to offer. What you see above is some smoked venison from the Rannoch Smokery in Pitlochry, Perthshire, some Loch Fyne smoked mussels and some wonderful little quail eggs which are farmed on the tiny island of Gigha. I have tried all of these products many times before and love them very much but I will be dreaming up some new ways of serving them and will share a few examples over the coming days of what I decide to create. The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, July 2011 The Oys...

Banana leg tomato, lemon cucumber and salad sandwich I've featured lemon cucumbers on here before and explained how they are cucumbers shaped like and the colour of lemons. They taste exactly like "ordinary" cucumbers, though the skin is a bit thicker. When I was gifted the latest couple of these cucumbers from a local greenhouse a few days ago, I was also given some curiously named banana leg tomatoes , another new fruit for me to try. I've been familiar with yellow tomatoes since childhood - when they were grown in the family greenhouse -  but these banana leg ones were shaped entirely differently. Taste? Exactly the same as other yellow tomatoes and just a little bit sweeter than red ones. What better way to enjoy these two ingredients on what was a beautiful summer's day than to make a tasty salad sandwich for lunch? Banana leg tomatoes and lemon cucumber Ingredients (Makes 2 Sandwiches) 2 banana leg tomatoes, sliced long ways 1/2 lemon cucumber, sliced 2 hand...

Scottish heather honey and raspberry vodka jelly with cream Okay, this one probably needs a little bit of an introductory explanation. I recently had a conversation about food with a couple of 20-somethings in which I happened to mention Cranachan . I couldn't believe that neither of them had even heard of it! When I explained that it is a famous Scottish pudding/dessert made from whisky, cream, raspberries, honey and oatmeal, they told me that they would rather have vodka jellies! A couple of days later, I came up with the idea of taking some of the ingredients from Cranachan and adapting them in to a version of vodka jellies. I looked around the Web for some "vodka jelly" inspiration and noticed that they are very often made with high sugar syrups and other ingredients that are not necessarily the healthiest in the world. I therefore deemed to make my creation hopefully at least a little bit more healthy. I hope this dish appeals to lovers of Cranachan and vodka jellies...

Black pudding Lorne sausages on rolls with fried peppers and onion A roll and sausage is usually considered a fairly unhealthy item, almost like the Scottish equivalent of a burger. If you think about it, though, and break down a roll and sausage in to component parts, it needn't be quite as unhealthy as you first think. For example, if you buy low quality sausages and white rolls packed full of salt and sugar, spread the rolls thickly with salted butter, fry the sausages in lard and squeeze on a great glug of tomato ketchup before closing the rolls over, you are going to have a pretty unhealthy production. Sure, I agree it will taste great - but the saturated fat, salt and sugar in your light breakfast/lunch is probably more than you should consume in the course of several days! So how can we make a roll and sausage healthier but still enjoy it every bit as much? Don't believe it's possible? Why not give this idea a try? Blackheart Lorne sausages see black pudding stuffed ...

Star moulded haggis, tatties and neeps with garden peas No one knows for sure how or when haggis came to Scotland. I must have read at least half a dozen theories over the years, ranging from it being introduced by everyone from the Vikings, to the Normans, to the pudding makers in the North-West of England. What is generally accepted as fact, however, is that it was widely popularised in Scotland by just one man with a passionate love for the dish - Robert ("Rabbie" or "Robbie") Burns. There is a wonderful song written about Burns rather than by him called, "The Star O' Rabbie Burns," the tune at least of which will be familiar to a great many people. It was this song which inspired this serving suggestion for haggis, tatties and neeps.  Haggis, tatties and neeps Ingredients (Serves Three or Four People) 1 small half pound (225g) haggis 4 medium floury/starchy potatoes, peeled and cut in to chunks 1/2 medium Swede turnip (rutabaga) peeled and cut in ...

All homemade - pies, chips and beans in tomato sauce My previous post saw me preparing a pretty different version of Scotch pies, using puff pastry instead of hot water pastry and incorporating tatties and neeps (potatoes and Swede turnip/rutabaga) in the filling along with the lamb. I thought I would here give a serving suggestion for the pies, based on the basic but classic Scottish dish that is pie, chips and beans. In keeping with the theme of this blog, however, I had to look at healthier options, particularly when it comes to the beans. Baked beans in tomato sauce are hugely popular in the United Kingdom but although we do get some benefits (especially fibre) from the beans, those benefits are usually negated to some extent by the excess salt and sugar in the sauce. I hope you like this idea (which as always can be varied to suit tastes) and will give it a try. Chipped potatoes are firstly steeped in cold water The recipe and instructions here relate entirely to the chips and be...