These Scottish dishes are some of my favorites. Stockcreations/Shutterstock; Gala Oleksenko/Shutterstock I’m a chef who was raised in Scotland, and there are plenty of dishes I miss from back home. With thousands of miles of coastline, Scotland has spectacular haddock for fish and chips.
Oats appear in all kinds of courses, from black pudding and haggis to cranachan. Haggis is a classic Scottish dish everyone should try. Haggis is traditionally served with neeps (turnip mash) and tatties (mashed potatoes).
Stockcreations/ShutterstockIn Scotland, you’ll find haggis served at the fanciest restaurants as well as battered and deep-fried in chip shops. The original recipes called for “sheep’s pluck” — heart, liver, and lungs — to be boiled with oats, suet, and spices in a sheep’s stomach. But today, artificial casings are often filled with beef, lamb, or even venison.
It tastes way better than it sounds — it’s kind of like a peppery sausage. Most people are sure they’ll hate haggis, but almost everyone who tries it asks for more. The trick is to present it in a way that looks more familiar, such as battered, deep-fried haggis “bonbons.
“I also make haggis nachos with whiskey cream sauce every January 25 for Robert Burns Day, which honors our national poet. There’s never a morsel left. Cullen skink is a hearty smoked-fish chowder.
The word “skink” refers to a type of soup traditionally made in northeastern Scotland. Sergii Koval/ShutterstockCullen skink is a creamy, buttery chowder thickened with potato chunks and made with smoked white fish. In Scotland, it’s smoked haddock — known as finnan haddie — that gives it its distinct flavor.
You’ll find it in pubs and restaurants all over the country and in cans in supermarkets. If you’re making Cullen skink and smoked haddock proves hard to find, smoked cod, mackerel, or even a small bit of bacon for that salty, smoky taste can be substituted. Surrounded by the sea, Scotland is the perfect place to eat salmon.
Scotland has over 10,000 miles of coastline if you include its 800 islands. Maksim Toome/Shutterstock You’re never more than 40 miles from the sea in Scotland, so the fish is fresh. There’s also an incredible amount of choice — crab, lobster, langoustines, mussels, scallops, oysters, cod, trout, and of course, salmon.
You’ll find Atlantic salmon from sustainable farms in deep lochs on Scotland’s west coast, which is said to be the best salmon in the world. I love it poached in white wine and fish stock, or served with briny pickled samphire (sea asparagus) and smoked dulse (seaweed known as “bacon of the sea”). But a quick grilled-salmon tikka is equally good.
A full Scottish breakfast will set you up for the day. A full Scottish is similar to a full English. gbellphotos/ShutterstockThe brunch staple can be found in most hotels, pubs, and cafes.
Haggis is less common in a full Scottish, but expect a plate loaded with streaky bacon, sausage links, a slab of square Lorne sausage, fried eggs, mushrooms, tomato, “tattie” scone, baked beans, and black or white pudding. White pudding is just an oatmeal-heavy sausage, but black pudding (also known as boudin noir) has pigs’ blood. It’s peppery, nutty, and delicious.
Black pudding also often appears as an appetizer with apples or scallops, as stuffing, or as a layer in Scotch eggs. Deep-fried pizza was a staple of my Scottish childhood. I worked in two West Highland chip shops, so I fried a lot of pizzas.
Andrea Skjold Mink/ShutterstockScots have a love for deep-fried things — when I worked in fish-and-chip shops, we battered and deep-fried any chocolate bar you wanted. But most people really wanted deep-fried pizza. The Scottish version is unlike a calzone or battered pizza (although you can get both in the country).
It’s simply a pre-topped pizza dropped in a fryer. It’s oil-saturated and utterly delicious. It’s not on menus now as much as it was when I was growing up, but it’s still available at Glasgow’s legendary University Cafe.
I’ve also made an appetizer version of the dish as part of my Scottish menus in the US and Canada. A visit to Scotland isn’t complete without fish and chips. There are classic fish-and-chip shops all around the country.
Igor Sh/ShutterstockThe chip-shop classic typically comes with salt and vinegar. But in Edinburgh, it comes with tangy Worcestershire-like brown sauce. The fish is generally haddock, Scotland’s favorite.
The regular chip-shop variety is always an excellent option, but you’ll also find fancier versions around the country, like Easdale’s Puffer Bar’s ale-battered haddock with pea puree or Stonehaven’s The Bay, where your haddock was landed that morning and can be breaded, battered, baked, or gluten-free. Tipsy laird is a whiskey-soaked trifleThis is my dad’s favorite dessert. C Teubner/ShutterstockTipsy laird is pretty much a regular trifle, but with whiskey instead of the more traditional sherry.
It’s one of a number of desserts that are considered Scottish simply because we add a glug of whiskey or Drambuie rather than another alcohol. Cranachan has always been my favorite dessert. Fresh Scottish raspberries elevate this simple dessert.
Gala Oleksenko/ShutterstockScotland excels at berries, and the east is particularly known for its blackcurrants, strawberries, and raspberries. Cranachan uses raspberries in two ways: whole and pureed. But like in tipsy laird, cream and whiskey are the two main ingredients.
The cream is whipped with whiskey and honey (usually heather honey), and then toasted oats and both types of raspberries are folded in. It’s simple and delectable. Tablet is a Scottish praline that’s found everywhere from grannies’ kitchens to the finest dining destinations.
When I first visited Louisiana, I discovered pralines tasted like tablet. Tantzi13/ShutterstockThe super sweet, fudge-like confection is made with condensed milk. It’s also slightly harder than fudge, more like New Orleans praline.
It used to be something Scottish grannies made and doled out to visitors. But now you’ll find squares of homemade tablet served with coffee at upscale cafes and restaurants. It also makes for a scrumptious ice-cream topping.
Cheese and oatcakes make for the perfect end to a meal. Scotland’s farms produce incredible cheeses. Helenlbuxton/ShutterstockYou can taste your way around the country with a selection of Scottish cheeses, from sharp Isle of Mull cheddar and crumbly Kintyre blue to Connage Clava brie and whipped goat cheese with heather honey.
They all taste great alongside crunchy oatcakes, a cracker-like flatbread. Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/best-scottish-dishes-everyone-should-have-at-least-once-chef-2022-10
