Many countries in eastern parts of Europe all seem to have stumbled onto the idea that vegetables are great when stuffed with meat. The Greeks to the Hungarians all have their take but my favourite is turkish "Karniyarik". It is served perfectly with turkish rice, a buttery and rich pilaf. This is a dish where … Continue reading No.97 Turkish Stuffed Aubergine“Karniyarik”
Some recipes needn't be complicated. This is a basic outline for a lovely rice pudding but the options of customising it to your taste are endless, for example, you could add white chocolate, but remember to cut the sugar in half. One Christmas I added rose water and pistachio nut to give it a Turkish delight … Continue reading No.96 Simple Baked Rice Pudding
This is not a healthy recipe but traditional, well known, Scottish recipes aren't known for that. Tablet is a sweet treat perfect as gift or with a nice cup of coffee. Ironically, there are some references to tablet being used by apothecaries to mask the taste of medicines, no wonder the pharmacist in me likes … Continue reading No.95 Tablet
When asparagus season in the UK runs from late April until late June, the challenge is to find out how to cook it in as many ways as possible before the season is out. For the first of the season, I have decided to make a simple salad. It may sound odd but using a … Continue reading No.94 Shaved Asparagus Salad
There are fish and chip shops where you will find this amazing dish. The deep frying of smoked haddock seems odd but the smokiness gives it a richness that stands out. Paired with a fried egg and some lemon it is outstanding. Just aim for good quality smoked haddock that hasn’t been artificially dyed. I … Continue reading No.93 Deep Fried Smoked Haddock
In the north east of Scotland beef olives are not the disappointing dry sausage meat filled beef olives that you find in the rest of the UK. Instead, they are filled with mealy puddings (recipe here). This is similar to skirlie but in my opinion much better. The fat from the mealy puddings is needed … Continue reading No.92 Beef Olives
Oats, salt and beef fat; what is there not to love. Skirlie is the more well-known oat based side dish in Scotland but mealy, although made with the same ingredients, is so different. It also goes by the name white pudding however depending on where you are this may be more a sausage … Continue reading No.91 Mealy Pudding
Surprisingly, this works well together. The smokey chipotle goes well with the orange, and the beer ensures it retains that bitter edge. This is not the prettiest of dishes but stands out with its full-on flavours. It works well made ahead of time. Have it with tacos, burritos or just with rice. Time: 4 hours … Continue reading No.90 IPA & Orange Pulled Pork
The nightmare with white hot chocolate is that it can be too sweet. The idea here is to keep that sweetness we love and balance it with other flavours. Lemongrass and lavender do this wonderfully. I often keep some spare lemongrass in the freezer but dried lemongrass works well too. Lavender flowers are surprisingly not … Continue reading No.89 Lavender & Lemongrass White Hot Chocolate
This is a meal for cooking on a Saturday when you can leave a pot on the hob slowly bubbling for a few hours. Gumbo is simply a stew from the southern states of America. It is a great way of using up any meat you have, whether that be chicken, crayfish or alligator. For … Continue reading No.88 Scotch Gumbo
