Modern Recipes

Countdown to Burns' Night 2015 Traditional Scottish cock-a-leekie soup Cock-a-leekie soup is for me a pretty unusual soup in more ways than one. Above all, it is a traditional soup at least two or three centuries old which has a very modern sounding ingredients list. Prunes in chicken and leek soup? It sounds like some experimental creation from the fusion craze of the 1970's, or perhaps the brainchild of a "trendy" London or Edinburgh wine bar owner. I know the idea sounds a little unorthodox - and yes, even off-putting at first - but the combination definitely works and  hopefully you'll consider giving this very traditional Scottish soup recipe a go for your Burns Supper. The one significant adaptation I have made from the traditional is that I have used only chicken thighs, rather than a whole chicken. This is because I believe chicken thigh meat works far better in soup than particularly chicken breast meat, which can become stringy, tough and extremely unpal...

A Perfect Blend of Traditional and Modern Fast Food Sweet Thai chilli stir fried veg is added to Scottish rolls and sausage A roll and sausage is of course a hugely popular foodstuff in Scotland, especially for breakfast. As delicious as it almost always is, however, it is usually quite a simple affair, with a fried or grilled (broiled) sliced sausage on a bread roll and perhaps some fried onions and brown or tomato sauce to add a bit of taste, variety or excitement. I love experimenting with this humble Scottish foodstuff, however, devising new toppings for the sausages and new ways to embellish the creation. The possibilities are so numerous and interesting - just like American burgers in so many ways. This was perhaps my most outlandish attempt for a while and although it was super tasty and scrumptious, I probably wouldn't recommend it for breakfast. This is definitely an evening meal recipe suggestion! Note that although I was only (as usual) cooking for one, the smallest quan...

One representation of an all day Scottish fried breakfast I've made reference to the full Scottish breakfast on this blog before and based a couple of dishes on the concept, including the Breakfast Sandwich Megabite I featured only last month. What I only realised a few days ago, however, was that I hadn't yet featured an example of how to prepare the breakfast itself and so I've decided to put that right. There is no recipe as such for a full Scottish breakfast, as just about everything ever used in its preparation is optional. Generally, however, sausage, bacon and egg will be served. As well as what I have included in this instance, you could add mushrooms, baked beans in tomato sauce, fried bread (instead of the tattie scones) or even choose to cook the egg in a different way. As the title of this post suggests, this is a meal which can be eaten at any time of day, not just breakfast time - and if you're anything like me, you'll probably enjoy it more later on ...

Countdown to Burns' Night 2015 Vegetarian haggis with mashed tatties, neeps and carrots Burns' Night 2015 (25th January, should anyone be in any doubt!) is now less than three weeks away. As the big day falls on a Sunday this year, it will present many people with the opportunity to be more productive/creative in the kitchen than when it falls on a week day. With this fact in mind, I thought I would take a look at a few ways in which you can spice up your Burns Supper this year, while still remaining largely true to the traditional haggis, tatties and neeps. I thought I would kick off this feature by looking at something which is becoming more and more widely available: vegetarian haggis! Vegetarian haggis is rolled in tinfoil for steaming This particular haggis was designed to serve two people. There are many different ways in which you can reheat haggis (normal or vegetarian) and while I normally prefer to simmer it in boiling water, on this occasion I took the suggestion fro...

Choc chip cookie base is topped with mincemeat and icing Mince pies (or mincemeat pies, whichever you choose to call them) are one of the most popular foods associated with Christmas in Scotland and the UK as a whole. They are bought individually from baker's shops, in packs from supermarkets and very frequently assembled and baked at home. If, however, you are looking for something a little bit different this year to make with your mincemeat, you may wish to give these ultra sweet Christmas treats a go. They could even be made to represent an excellent way of using up any extra mincemeat you have leftover after you've made your pies. Choc chip cookies It's notoriously difficult to give precise ingredient quantities for a bit of a mish-mash of a recipe such as this one. The size of the cookies, the size of your ramekins and more will all prove variables but I have done as best I can below. Do be prepared to add/remove a little bit here and there as necessary. The ramekins I...