THE feast of St Andrew is on the horizon. I always mark it,
having grown up at St Andrew's, Taunton. Andrew was the brother of
Simon Peter. Both men refused to be martyred by the same
crucifixion as our Lord; and so, as legend has it, Andrew met his
end on an X- shaped cross.
It was the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath which asserted his part
in the conversion of Scotland to Christianity. Arbroath smokies are
delicious examples of smoked haddock, and usually come in pairs.
The first recipe here uses fish; the second calls for Scotland's
other great exports: porridge oats and whisky.
I have tinkered with this classic supper soup to give
Cullen skink risotto. Smokies could be used, but
any smoked fish works well, and haddock is best.
500g (1 lb) smoked
haddock, skin on
1 peeled shallot, studded
with
two cloves
6 new potatoes, halved
60g (2 oz) unsalted
butter
500ml (10 fl. oz) milk
2 leeks, trimmed and thinly
sliced
250g (9 oz) short-grain
rice
small glass of white
wine
half a bunch of chives
Place the haddock in a pan with the studded shallot, potatoes,
milk, and half the butter. Bring almost to the boil, then turn to
the lowest heat and simmer gently for five minutes. Take off the
heat, and let it cool.
In a large pan, melt the remaining butter with a splash of oil,
and cook the leeks gently for a few minutes until soft. Add the
rice, stir to combine, then the wine, and stir until absorbed. Add
the poaching milk a ladle at a time, and stir to absorb, doing this
until all used up: about 20-25 minutes.
Remove the skin from the fish and chunk it, discarding the
shallot. Break up the potatoes into rough cubes, and fold
everything into the rice. Snip the chives over just before serving,
along with a twist of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon.
Porridge oats grace this Cranberry cranachan.
Scottish raspberries, if frozen, are the obvious fruit here, but
cranberries are in season and nod towards Christmas.
150g (5 oz) porridge
oats
50g (2 oz) chopped
almonds
500g (10 fl. oz) natural
yoghurt
2 tablespoons clear runny
honey
200g (7 oz) cranberries
2 tablespoons whisky
white chocolate
Toast the oats lightly in a frying pan, until they just start to
colour, and then tip them into a bowl and add the chopped almonds.
Stir in the yogurt and the honey, and pack into ramekins or
tumblers, leaving room for the fruit on top.
In a saucepan, gently heat the cranberries with a little water
and a light sprinkling of sugar, until they start to break down and
are soft; remove from the heat, stir in the whisky, and leave to
cool.
Spoon the fruit compote over the yogurt mixture, grate some
white chocolate on top, then place in the fridge to chill until
needed.