Writing and thoughts from NE Scotland
Posts about food, drink, recipes and resaurants
I had some olives and a pork chop leftover (from separate meals) and was looking for something to use them up. So I came up with this simple dish of mushrooms with garlic, tomatoes and olives and a pan fried pork chop. Great for a quick midweek meal as the whole thing just takes 15 minutes. Continue reading “Pork chop with garlic mushrooms and olives”
What am I going to have for tea tonight? That’s a question that takes up a lot of my time. For inspiration I’ll grab a few books and flick through them or trawl recipe websites hoping something jumps out of the screen. But often the best inspiration is my own memory of a dish I’ve eaten somewhere. This sea bass dish is my version of a restaurant dish I had at Sea Breezes on Skye. They used crushed tatties but I’ve done it with spaghetti for a slightly more mediterranean feel. Continue reading “Sea Bass with Tomato and Olive Spaghetti”
I don’t normally do requests but on this occasion I’ll make an exception. An expat friend of mine demanded that I post a recipe for butteries after my snapshot post on them last week. The sight of Aitken’s finest produce on my frontpage reminded him how much he missed them for breakfast. I can’t blame him really.
Butteries or rowies are a speciality of north-east Scotland. Similar to a flat croissant, they’re high in fat and salt with a large amount of butter and lard in the recipe. This isn’t health food! They were originally developed as food that would keep for a few days on a fishing boat; hence the high salt content. Don’t be put off by their unhealthy reputation though. As an occasional treat they’re delicious. As long as they’re fresh then I’ll eat them plain but most people like them lightly toasted with butter and jam.
Continue reading “Homemade Butteries”
On Saturday I found myself standing in the co-op staring blankly at a wall of ready-made sandwiches contemplating lunch. I eat a lot of ready-made sandwiches – mostly during the working week – and they’re almost universally disappointing. Faced with this sad choice again I looked around for something a little different and as I paced up and down the aisle I noticed a packet of trimmed green beans sitting in the veg section. Seeing the packet made me think of a warm salad of black pudding, apple and beans that I’d had a year ago in an Edinburgh restaurant and really enjoyed. It was just the kind of dish that would make a really quick and easy weekend lunch. Continue reading “Black Pudding, Apple and Green Bean Salad”
For the last few years I’ve taken over making the starter for our Christmas dinner. It helps take some of the pressure of my Mum on the day and gives me a chance to show off a bit. In the past I’ve done stuffed mushrooms, chicken pate and last year I made smoked mackerel pate. This year I’m going to make this chestnut and pancetta barley risotto. Continue reading “Chestnust and Pancetta Barley Risotto”
Mince and Skirlie 