MANY Scots will have woken up this morning without realising that today is their national day. Before you start to panic and assume that you've slept through the last seven weeks - maybe not such a bad idea - it should be pointed out that we're not talking about Burns' Night, but rather November 30; St Andrew's Day.
With the whisky and haggis evenings in January taking precedence in celebrating all things Scottish, poor old St Andrew can be forgiven for feeling a little neglected, or even ignored.
It's surely a fact that more people in Scotland can be found
wearing green top hats on St Patrick's Day in March than doing anything to mark our own patron saint's big day, though that may have something to do with a large brewing company's marketing department and a healthy student population, than anything particularly Irish.
But while a rowdy Burns' supper's mix of haggis, whisky and poetry may have you wrapped in a saltire by the end of the night and digging out your video of Braveheart when you get home, it's not exactly a moveable feast when it comes to the culinary part of the celebration.
Haggis or stovies with cock-a-leekie soup beforehand and cranachan to finish is the way it usually goes. Nothing wrong with any of that of course, but with Scotland's natural larder and centuries of traditional dishes to choose from, maybe we could look a little further than that sheep's brain/intestine number when thinking about a Scottish-flavoured dinner tonight.
If you can manage to get hold of a traditional Scots cookbook, the first thing that you'll notice are the fantastic names that many of these old dishes go by. Fancy some cabbie claw or potted hough followed by a nice bit of Finnan haddie or howtowdie, served with skirlie and rumbledethumps? Or how about a hearty plate of roastit bubblyjock with cheston crappin?
While your granny might berate you for your ignorance here, you'll usually find some fairly down-to-earth translations for these wonderful titles. Howtowdie, for example is a Scots/French variation on stuffed roast chicken, while rumbledethumps, or Kailkenny, is a version of the Irish Colcannon: potato and cabbage mixed with butter. Roastit bubblyjock turns out to be roast turkey while cheston crappin, thankfully, converts to chestnut stuffing.
Our country is rightly famous for the production of top quality ingredients which find their way on to restaurant menus all over the world. Scottish beef has an enviable and deserved reputation as being among the best in the world and is specially requested by top international chefs. Wild game such as grouse, venison and partridge, as well as a huge variety of fresh or smoked fish and shellfish form the top end of the market when it comes to traditional Scottish foodstuffs. Fresh scallops or mussels from Scottish waters or salmon from local smokeries would grace any menu.
But while Jack McConnell will no doubt be donning his pinstripe kilt and tucking into such top-end luxuries tonight, you needn't break your budget in preparing yourself a traditional Scottish dinner. Herring is a much underrated fish if you don't mind dealing with a few bones and always makes a nice starter coated with oatmeal, pan-fried and served, for instance, with a potato and grain mustard salad. The smoked version, kippers, aren't purely the preserve of breakfast-time. With a little butter, lemon and black pepper they can make a simple yet fantastic pate, ideal with crusty bread. Pickled herring may be a Scandinavian speciality but there are many Scottish companies producing interesting and tasty variations.
Pheasant makes a flavoursome dish which you can either roast whole or remove the breasts and pan-fry. You'll need to take care not to overcook the meat or it can end up stringy and tough, but if cooked properly it's an ideal main course for a cold winter's evening, served perhaps with braised red cabbage and skirlie, (onion and oatmeal with dripping). Or rumbledethumps, of course.
While Scottish cheeses might not be quite as internationally renowned as their French, English or Italian counterparts, there is certainly enough quality and variety to put together an interesting cheese plate to finish. Try an Isle of Mull cheddar, a Lanark blue or even a home-made crowdie.
And what could be more traditionally Scottish than the humble oatcake as an accompaniment? Try making your own - the taste and texture is a world away from most shop-bought varieties. Wash all this down with a good malt, a surprisingly good accompaniment to cheese - especially the mouth-wateringly strong cheddars - and celebrate our patron saint's day in style.
• Andy McGregor is chef/proprietor of Blonde restaurant, 75 St Leonard's Street, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131-668 2917
Recipes
Howtowdie with spinach and drappit (poached) eggs
(serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
• 1 whole chicken, around 1kg, cleaned out, liver set aside
• 150g butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves
• 300ml chicken stock
• salt and black pepper
• 6 eggs
• 900g spinach, washed
For the stuffing:
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 100g bacon, chopped
• 50g butter, melted
• 20g fresh parsley, chopped
Method:
Mix the stuffing ingredients together and press into the chicken cavity and truss the bird. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Melt 100g of the butter in a roasting pan, add the chicken and onions and sauté until browned. Add the stock, peppercorns, bay leaves and cloves and bring to the boil.
Cover and cook for 60-75 mins. Steam the spinach with the remaining butter until soft then set aside. Strain the chicken stock into a pan, add the liver and cook for 3 mins then remove and set aside.
Poach the eggs in the stock and keep warm. Press the liver through a sieve into the stock to thicken it and pour over the chicken. Serve with the spinach and poached eggs.
