Burns Night Special
Its Burns Night!
January 25th marks the annual celebration of the life of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.
Cock-a-Leekie Soup
This traditional soup, with prunes included in the ingredients, is mentioned as early as the 16th century. It's often served on Burns Night or St Andrew's Day, as well as an every-day soup in winter. Some people omit the prunes though! This serves 6-8 people.
Ingredients
1 boiling fowl, about 4lb, including legs and wings
12 leeks, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 pints stock or water
1oz long grained rice
4oz cooked, stoned prunes
One tsp. brown sugar
Salt and pepper
Garni of bay leaf, parsley, thyme
Method
Put the fowl in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and remove any scum.
Add three-quarters of the leeks, (green as well as white sections), herbs (tied together in a bundle), salt and pepper and return to the boil.
Simmer gently for 2-3 hours, adding more water if necessary.
Remove the bird.
Some thrifty chefs use the bird as another course, others cut the meat into small pieces and add them back to the soup (certainly it should have some pieces of chicken in it when served).
Add the rice and drained prunes and the remaining leeks and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Check for flavour and serve with a little chopped parsley.
Haggis Millefeuille
A traditional haggis meal consists of haggis, neeps and tatties (chopped up turnip/swede and mashed potatoes). But this recipe is by no means traditional. This is served with candied tomatoes, black pudding mousse, crisp rosti and malt whisky jus.
Check out the recipe over on Traditional Scottish Recipes here.
Dundee Cake
This is a rich, fruity cake topped with almonds which became popular at the end of the 19th century.
Ingredients
8oz self raising flour
6oz butter
5oz caster sugar
4 eggs
1oz blanched almonds
1.5oz mixed peel
6oz each of currants, raisins, sultanas
Grated rind and juice of lemon
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. whisky
2 tbsp. boiled milk and 1 tbsp. sugar
Method
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl.
Slowly add the four eggs, and a spoonful of flour with each egg, beating well all the time.
Stir in the nuts and fruits.
Add the rest of the flour and baking powder and then the whisky.
Make sure the mixture is stirred well - right to the foot of the bowl.
If it is too stiff, add a little milk.
Place mixture into an 8-inch greased and lined cake tin.
Flatten the top with your hands (they should be slightly wet).
Cover with foil or greaseproof paper and bake at 170C for two hours.
Halfway through, take off the foil and arrange the split almonds in circles on the top of the cake.
Check the cake with a skewer towards the end of cooking - if it is still wet in the middle, put it back for more cooking!
5-10 minutes before cooking is finished, brush the top with the sweetened milk to create a dry glaze.
Keep in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out on a wired tray.
Store in an airtight container.
There you have it, 3 super Scottish recipes that will get you prepared for a Burns Night to remember.
Happy baking,
Charley x
(Recipes found at 'Traditional Scottish Recipes')
January 25th marks the annual celebration of the life of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.
Cock-a-Leekie Soup
This traditional soup, with prunes included in the ingredients, is mentioned as early as the 16th century. It's often served on Burns Night or St Andrew's Day, as well as an every-day soup in winter. Some people omit the prunes though! This serves 6-8 people.
Ingredients
1 boiling fowl, about 4lb, including legs and wings
12 leeks, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 pints stock or water
1oz long grained rice
4oz cooked, stoned prunes
One tsp. brown sugar
Salt and pepper
Garni of bay leaf, parsley, thyme
Method
Put the fowl in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and remove any scum.
Add three-quarters of the leeks, (green as well as white sections), herbs (tied together in a bundle), salt and pepper and return to the boil.
Simmer gently for 2-3 hours, adding more water if necessary.
Remove the bird.
Some thrifty chefs use the bird as another course, others cut the meat into small pieces and add them back to the soup (certainly it should have some pieces of chicken in it when served).
Add the rice and drained prunes and the remaining leeks and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Check for flavour and serve with a little chopped parsley.
Haggis Millefeuille
A traditional haggis meal consists of haggis, neeps and tatties (chopped up turnip/swede and mashed potatoes). But this recipe is by no means traditional. This is served with candied tomatoes, black pudding mousse, crisp rosti and malt whisky jus.
Check out the recipe over on Traditional Scottish Recipes here.
Dundee Cake
This is a rich, fruity cake topped with almonds which became popular at the end of the 19th century.
Ingredients
8oz self raising flour
6oz butter
5oz caster sugar
4 eggs
1oz blanched almonds
1.5oz mixed peel
6oz each of currants, raisins, sultanas
Grated rind and juice of lemon
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. whisky
2 tbsp. boiled milk and 1 tbsp. sugar
Method
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl.
Slowly add the four eggs, and a spoonful of flour with each egg, beating well all the time.
Stir in the nuts and fruits.
Add the rest of the flour and baking powder and then the whisky.
Make sure the mixture is stirred well - right to the foot of the bowl.
If it is too stiff, add a little milk.
Place mixture into an 8-inch greased and lined cake tin.
Flatten the top with your hands (they should be slightly wet).
Cover with foil or greaseproof paper and bake at 170C for two hours.
Halfway through, take off the foil and arrange the split almonds in circles on the top of the cake.
Check the cake with a skewer towards the end of cooking - if it is still wet in the middle, put it back for more cooking!
5-10 minutes before cooking is finished, brush the top with the sweetened milk to create a dry glaze.
Keep in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out on a wired tray.
Store in an airtight container.
There you have it, 3 super Scottish recipes that will get you prepared for a Burns Night to remember.
Happy baking,
Charley x
(Recipes found at 'Traditional Scottish Recipes')
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