My Mother's Scottish RecipesThe McHardy Family of Corryhoul Website
My Mother's Scottish RecipesNo one can fault the care my mother Elizabeth Albiston Steele takes in the preparation of the simple traditional fare of this part of the country. Her home baking is an example to us all. Even to this day my eldest brother still sends home his empty shortbread tin to be replenished. I hope you enjoy these few recipes as much as I have over the years.
Click on the hyperlinks below to go to the following on this page :-
These are my favourite and I prefer them to be one day old before I eat them with or without some homemade raspberry jam (wild berries are by far the best). Their magic is in the preparation of the dough, mine never turn out anywhere nearly as good as mums do.
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Ingredients
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Oven
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| Method Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the sugar and butter and rub in until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually mix in the milk to make a soft dough (final quantity of milk will depend on the mixture). Roll out the dough until about 1/2 inch thick and cut into 2 inch rounds with a scone cutter. Arrange on a baking sheet and brush the top of the scones with some milk. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until well risen and lightly golden on top. Cool off on a wire tray after removing from the oven. |
Mum makes shortbread fingers sprinkled with caster sugar...Mmmmmmmmmmmm Shortbread. Dieticians may take a heart attack when they look at the butter content.
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Ingredients
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Oven
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| Method Mix the plain flour, corn flour, and caster sugar together, then add and rub/knead in the butter until you have a stiff dough. Roll out until 1/2 a centimetre thick, and cut into fingers about 2.5 centimetres wide by about 8 centimetres long. Prick the fingers with a fork and sprinkle with castor sugar ontop. Bake in the oven until ready (about 25 minutes). Leave them to cool on the tray once removed from the oven. |
A real favourite of mine. Keep them moist by covering with a clean dish towel as you batch make them. One batch is never enough. I eat them with nothing on them, but you can smother them in butter, jam, syrup etc.
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Ingredients
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| Gridle or Frying Pan or Solid Iron Baking Sheet |
| Method Mix flour and salt in basin, rub in the margarine. Mix in the sugar. Add the beaten egg, milk and flavouring to make a smooth batter. Bake 2 or 3 at a time by dropping a tablespoon for each scone on to a hot well greased girdle. Bake both sides for 3 minutes. |
Wild Blaeberries are very small in Scotland and take a long time to pick, but the jam is well worth the effort. They grow in the woodland and suitable mountain areas of Strathdon and Corgarff. Many are my childhood memories of having purple hands and a purple mouth in July/August after a day at the berries. The Blaeberry is low in Pectin and some recipes add rhubarb to aid the setting process. This recipe uses only Blaeberries and so without careful attention you might end up with a slightly runnier jam than would otherwise be expected.
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| Sugar to Fruit ratio by weight = 1:1 |
Ingredients
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| Method 1. Wash the berries and clean them of any leaves. 2. Put in a cooking pan with 1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup of water. 3. Bring berries to boil for 10 minutes or more if necessary. You are looking to see a slight thickening of the mixture. Time will depend on the moisture content of the berries when picked. At this point we're trying to get as much pectin from the berries as we can. Make sure the berries do not stick. 4. Warm jars in the oven. 5. Add the sugar and bring back to the boil, stirring occasionaly. 6. Boil for 20 minutes. Take samples with a teaspoon and pour onto a cool saucer. Take the saucer outside into a cooler environment if necessary to see if the surface will set. 7. If there is any major scum floating on the top of the jam in the pan skim this off. 8. Put the ring under the pan off, and allow the jam to stand for a short time. Not too long or it will set in the pan. 9. Pour into the jars and seal when cool. |
The cool climate of the Northeast of Scotland makes it soup country. Soup as a main course or as a starter, made with whatever is in season, is still very popular and no more so than in our family. Mum always makes enough for a few days; second day soup is always best for me. You'll have plenty if you follow the recipe below. This one is the business !
 This soup
induces a little flatulence so watch yourself if the
Minister is coming to tea ! |
Ingredients
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Method 1 .Put all the ingredients into a large pot. 2.Cover with water, bring to the boil. 3.Reduce the heat and simmer for two to three hours. Add water as necessary. 4. Take the quarter chicken out after one hour (and the turnip if you have added some). |
Clootie Dumpling is a Scottish favourite. Cloot is the Scottish word for cloth - as in dish cloot, face cloot etc. Cloot is a word still very much in use today. (Note: not to be mistaken with a cloot roond the lug - something your mother gave you with her hand as punishment in less namby pamby politically correct times - Cloot ! Ooochaa !)
| Ingredients 6 oz of self raising flour 6 oz of brown bread crumbs 6 oz of suet 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger 4 oz currants 6 oz sultanas 4 oz soft dark-brown sugar 2 tablespoons of golden syrup 1 1/2 cups of milk |
Method Place your cloot in a pan boiling water. Mix all your ingredients together with the milk to make a fairly soft consistency in a baking bowl. Make sure everything is mixed well. Take the cloot out of the boiling water and wring the water out of it with your hands (let it cool first !). Then lay it out flat and dredge (sprinkle) well with flour. Smooth the flour over the cloot with your hands to get an even spread. Now place your mixture on the cloot, draw it together evenly, leaving room for expansion, and tie-up the cloot with string. The idea being that a clootie dumpling is a round affair. Put a plate in the bottom of the pan of boiling water, then on top of this place your clootie dumpling. Simmer the clootie dumpling for two to three hours. Remove from the pot and put it in a colander to drain. Untie the string and gently pull the corners of the cloot apart to reveal the dumpling. Put a large plate over the now open clootie dumpling in the colander. Turn it over to transfer the clootie dumpling to the dish. Now carefully finish peeling the cloot from the dumpling. Do not dry out the dumpling - or this will make it hard. Best eaten freshly made from the pot. |
