SCOTTISH DISHES

In the mighty land of Nessie and where the bagpipes take their place to be listened, we can find a variety of exquisite and exotic Scottish dishes not very well known among people (except if your are Scottish, of course!). Let’s discover them!

So, if you plan to travel to Scotland, you cannot miss the opportunity to taste all of the following and most traditional dishes from this country.

Haggis

Do you dare to try it? This strange dish looks like some type of “black pudding”, but it is not. Haggis is a salty dish made of sheep’s stomach filling with minced meat (lungs and heart from the lamb), all mixed with grinded onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt.  

 

This special food is always served during Burn’s Night, which is a Scottish festivity celebrated every 25^th of January in memory of Robert Burns’ birthday (the Scotland’s national poet who used to write his poems in Scots dialect). This man wrote a poem dedicated to haggis called “Address to a Haggis” and it was written to celebrate his appreciation for them. 







As a consequence, in every Scots' house the haggis is carried into the dining room accompanied by a piper wearing the traditional Scot dress, who then reads a poem written specially for the haggis.

Also, this dish is also eaten in Hogmanay, which is the name that they give to New Year’s Eve.

How can we elaborate this dish? Here we show you the recipe and the procedure. (Recipe and method extracted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/haggis_66072)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sheep's stomach or ox secum, cleaned and thoroughly, scalded, turned inside out and soaked overnight in cold salted water
• heart and lungs of one lamb
• 450g/1lb beef or lambtrimmings, fat and lean
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 225g/8oz oatmeal
• 1tbsp salt
• 1tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground dried coriander
• 1 tsp mace
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• water, enough to cook the haggis
• stock from lungs and trimmings.

        STEPS

1.      Wash the lungs, heart and liver (if using). Place them in large of cold water with the meat trimmings and bring to the boil. Cook for about 2 hours
2.      When cooked, strain off the stock and set the stock aside.
3.      Mince the lungs, heart and trimmings.
4.      Put the minced mixture in a bowl and add the finely chopped onions, oatmeal and seasoning. Mix well and add enough stock to moisten the mixture. It should have a soft crumbly consistency.
5.      Spoon the mixture into the sheep's stomach, so it's just over half full. Sew up the stomach with strong thread and prick a couple of times so it doesn't explode while cooking.
6.      Put the haggis in a pan of boiling water (enough to cover it) and cook for 3 hours without a lid. Keep adding more water to keep it covered.
7.     To serve, cut open the haggis and spoon out the filling. Serve with neeps (mashed swede or turnip) and tatties (mashed potatoes). 

Porridge

English people have this for breakfast, but Porridge is in fact from Scotland, too.

It is made from oats (which grow only in Scotland due to its climate) and they are mixed with water (sometimes with milk) and salt.

It is a good meal for a healthy diet, as it can reduce cholesterol and it keeps you full of energy.

Here it is the recipe and steps to elaborate it (recipe and method extracted from: http://www.scottish-at-heart.com/porridge-recipe.html  and http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_porridge.htm):

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 Cups Pinhead Oatmeal
• 3 1/2 Cups Water
• Generous pinch of Salt

STEPS

1. Bring the water (or water and milk) to a good rolling boil, preferably in a non-stick pan.    
2. Slowly pour the oatmeal into the boiling liquid, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon all the time. Keep stirring until it has returned to the boil again, reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer very gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.                                       
3. Add the salt at this point and simmer and stir for further 5/10 minutes (time depends on the quality of the oats).It should be a thick but pourable consistency.                               
4. Serve hot in wooden bowls if you have them.

Shortbread

You might have tried this once in your life, but we bet you did not try the original ones. Exactly, shortbread was originally from Scotland.

Shortbreads are basically made of a generous amount of butter, all mixed with sugar and flour. As a result, the flavor is sweet and tasty, and it melts in your mouth.

Here we give you the recipe, in case you want to make them! (Recipe and method extracted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortbread_1290)

INGREDIENTS

•  125g/4oz butter
•   55g/2oz caster sugar, plus extra to finish
• 180g/6oz plain flour

     STEPS

1.   Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2.  Beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth.
3. Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.
4. Cut into rounds or fingers and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with caster sugar and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Whisky

What’s more, we cannot forget the splendid and magical drink to wash down all these delicious dishes, and originally born in this country: Whisky.

This well-known drink was originally made from malted barley, but it has changed during the time by introducing wheat and rye.

Scotch whisky can be classified into five categories: single malt Scotch whisky, single grain Scotch whisky, blended malt Scotch whisky, blended grain Scotch whisky and blended Scotch whisky.

The procedure to obtain Scotch whisky is to have them in oak barrels for at least three years.

Currently, whisky is at 90% produced in Scotland. Some famous Scottish whisky brands can be found as Bells, Dewar’s, Johnnie Walker, Whyte and Mackay, Cutty Sark, J&B, The Famous Grouse, Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal.

The taste of this drink is strong and hot, but Scottish people are used to its flavour! In addition, Scotch whisky drinkers, to ask for a unit for drinking, call it a “dram”.

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