Stokes Sauces: Celebrate St. Andrew's Day with some fine Scottish Fayre

St Andrew's Day

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/traditional-condiments

St Andrew's Day (30th November) celebrates Scotland's patron saint. It's also a great excuse for the fine folk of Scotland to enjoy a bank holiday.

But who was St Andrew the Apostle?

St Andrew, according to Christianity's teachings, was one of Jesus Christ's apostles revered in Scotland from around 1,000 AD but he didn't become its official patron saint until the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

Like Jesus, Andrew died a martyr, crucified in Greece on an X-shaped cross in 60 AD. This type of cross is also known as a saltire - the symbol that makes up the Scottish flag today.

The 3 C's of Scottish Cuisine

Cullen Skink

Cullen is a fishing town on the Moray Firth, an inlet popular with haddock. Most recipes simply call for smoked haddock, with some adding 'preferably undyed'. Nick Nairn specifies Arbroath smokies - headless, gutted haddock, hot smoked over wood in the traditional fashion. There are theories, but nobody knows for certain where the word 'skink' comes from.

You'll need:

1 onion, diced
2 or 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
300 ml of milk
3 or 4 cloves
1 bay leaf
250 g of smoked haddock
1 tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard

Here's how:

Gently fry the onion in butter for 8 to 10 minutes. We don't want to colour it, just soften it, then stir the mustard into the onions.

Boil the potatoes until they too are soft, drain and set aside.

Put the milk into a pan with the cloves and bay leaf. Bring it up to a gentle simmer and add the smoked haddock for about 5 minutes.

Cool the pan then remove the haddock, keeping the milk but throwing the cloves and bay away. When cool enough to handle, break up the fish, removing the skin and bones.

Add the milk, fish and potatoes to the onions, season and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Clapshot & Haggis Pie

Haggis neeps & tatties is the traditional Scottish trio but this dish uses 'clapshot' which originated in Orkney. It is basically a mash of neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes), sometimes including chives or onions. We're going to make this 'shepherd's pie' style combining haggis and minced beef as the base, with clapshot on the top.

The gravy is one to look out for.

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/ketchup-and-sauces

Here's how:

Peel, cut, boil, mash and cool equal amounts of tatties and neeps. A lovely, buttery combined mash will spread smoothly over the meaty base.

Cook a 450 g (approx) of haggis to the packet's instructions and set aside.

Gently fry 1 diced onion and 1 grated carrot in a little butter then add 450 g of minced beef. When the meat colours, add 3 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup, 1 tbsp of Stokes Brown Sauce, 2 tsp of chopped thyme leaves and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Stir in 2 tbsp of flour and pour in about 500 ml of beef stock. A few peas add sweetness and a little colour. Simmer for 20 minutes then carefully add the cooked haggis. If there is too much liquid, increase the heat to reduce it; if it's too thick then add more stock. Haggis is very highly seasoned so be careful and taste it first if you're thinking of adding more.

Slange var ~ cheers !

Simmer for a further 10 minutes then spoon it all into a casserole dish. It's easier to layer the mashed clapshot when the meat has cooled. Cover the meat with the clapshot then pop it into a medium hot oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

For the Whisky Gravy:

Boil the alcohol off 150 ml of whisky for 2 minutes then stir in 1 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard and 2 tbsp of Stokes Cranberry Sauce.

In a separate pan, boil 500 ml of beef stock to reduce it by half then pour it into the whisky and mustard with 100 ml of double cream, heating it up before serving.

Cranachan

Our 3rd 'C' is a traditional Scottish dessert of oats, cream, whisky and raspberries. It's a delicious way to clean the palate after a meal of smoked haddock and spicy haggis.

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/jams-and-marmalade

Here's how:

Toast 85 g of porridge oats in a dry pan being careful not to burn them.

Whip 570 ml of double cream to soft peaks. Now very gently (lovingly shall we say) fold in: 7 tbsp of whisky; 3 tbsp of Stokes Raspberry Extra Jam; 3 tbsp of honey; and 400 g of fresh raspberries. Spoon the mixture into glass bowls with the toasted oats and serve.