International Supper Club: A Taste of Scotland
From Ireland, we head northeast to the topmost country of the UK, Scotland!
It’s amazing how different this project feels after only two weeks. I’m loving the content I’m finding on the internet, the conversations I’m having with people from all over the world, and my favorite thing so far: the simple, low-tech blogs and websites I’m finding from grandmas in each country, listing their family “secret” recipes (we all know that’s not the real recipe, Nana) and reasons they’re cherished in their family. It’s kinda like this blog, no?
The traditional recipe books in Scotland will definitely feature, you guessed it, Haggis. Haggis is a lovely blend of lamb heart and lungs, lamb or beef trimmings, oatmeal, spices, and broth. It’s all boiled together, minced and stuffed & sewn into a sheep’s stomach.
I committed to making Haggis for the week of Scotland, I knew it was coming and prepared myself for it, but OH SHUCKS, I wasn’t able to access most of the ingredients here in Austin, Texas. I would have made it though, really.
So, I decided on another recipe I kept reading about over and over and I’m so glad I did. Cullen Skink, a smoked haddock stew, is creamy and hearty and often served on Burn’s Night, an annual Scottish celebration for their National Poet, Robert Burns. On January 25th every year, friends and family gather to enjoy live music, theatre, dancing, and the arts. Luckily I was able to find haddock locally. It’s so common in Scotland, found in huge numbers along the coast. I love it; it’s flaky, rich, non-fishy and nutrient-dense.
I won’t always make a “menu” of items as I did this week, usually I’ll focus on just one dinner specialty. This week, I wanted to cook up a main dish, a side biscuit of sorts and for my sweet-tooth husband, Scottish shortbread.
For the biscuits, I turned to a cookbook I bought my mom for Christmas: The Outlander Kitchen. This may seem like I’m going against the whole “I won’t choose foods just because it’s become an American trend representing a country” thing, but I have my reasons for this one.
The book that started it all.
When my sister and I were in middle and high school in the ‘90s, my mom went to a used book sale fundraiser at a private school in our home town. She picked up a book because of the cover (as we all do) and took it home. It was the second book in a series but she decided to snag it and purchase the first book later. Years later, she bought the first book titled Outlander and got lost in the historical fiction story set in 1700’s Scotland. She was a loyal romance novel reader for so many years, and I remember having so many questions about this historical fiction novel she was so into. That sure sounds boring. Over the next few years, we saw her choices change in books, and the way she talked about this country made us so curious, we had to get in on the action. So, my sister and I got our own copies of Outlander and woof. That Jamie. If you’ve read the series, you know.
Once the three of us had read the first book, it became our thing. Christmas stockings stuffed with tiny Scottish whiskey bottles, gifts of tartan scarves, laminated bookmarks of each character and copies of books we hadn’t yet read. Now that the books have been turned into a series on Starz, the three of us watch together, gab about each episode, ogle over the love story and the history of the Scottish highlands. I feel like I can have a real conversation about the Battle of Culloden, which I wouldn’t have known much about (okay..I knew nothing) before reading this series. I’m currently reading book 5, which dives into the American Revolution.
So, I present you Cullen Skink, drop biscuits & shortbread cookies.
Cullen Skink
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-2” cubes
1 tablespoon oil (I prefer something with a high smoke point like grapeseed or avocado oil)
1 finely chopped yellow onion
1 leek, chopped (Don’t use the tough green tops, just use the bottom half. I keep the discarded tops in the freezer for seasonal veggie stock.)
1 bay leaf
1 pound haddock (thawed)
4 cups water or broth
2 cups full-fat milk
3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
Salt & pepper - a few dashes of each, to taste
Fresh chives
I found several recipes for Cullen Skink, and I pulled bits from each and the following method worked great!
In a large pot or dutch oven, combine the liquid ingredients and bring to a boil.
Add potatoes, bay leaf, and a dash of salt and pepper to the pot. Cover and lower heat to simmer.
Meanwhile, in a pan, heat the oil and sauté the leeks and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the haddock to the pan, nestle it among the onion/leek mixture and season with a dash of salt and pepper. Cook until fish becomes just beyond opaque. It will finish cooking in the pot.
With a slotted spatula, scoop the fish out of the pan and set aside for now. Add the onions, leeks, and any leftover bits from the pan into the pot and continue cooking on medium-high for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Add haddock to the pot. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes, or until fish is fully cooked. (I also check a potato cube before turning off the heat. A bite of a raw-crunchy potato is terrible.)
Remove the bay leaf. Ladle soup into bowls and enjoy with a warm drop biscuit.
Mrs. Bug's Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
(recipe from the Outlander Kitchen cookbook)
Makes about 1 dozen
1 stick of butter, plus another 1-2 tablespoons for brushing the baked biscuits once they’re hot out of the oven
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur, it’s the best)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 cup cold buttermilk
2 tsp honey
1 tablespoon corn starch (I sub arrowroot powder for corn starch)
Preheat the oven to 450 and move the baking rack to the upper-middle rung.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cold buttermilk and honey.
In a saucepan over medium, heat the stick of butter until just melted then pour into the buttermilk+honey mixture.
In a large bowl or mixer, combine all dry ingredients until fully blended, then add the buttermilk+honey+butter mixture.
Mix until fully combined and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl as it stirs. It’s really satisfying.
Smear a little butter on the inside of a ¼ cup measure to scoop even hunks of dough onto a cookie sheet or cast iron pan. Arrange three biscuits in the middle, then nine around the outside to fit nicely and to create a lovely aesthetic.
Bake until golden brown on the top, about 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter, cool on a cookie rack and enjoy! (My husband loves to drizzle honey over the top!)
Scottish Shortbread Cookies
2 sticks unsalted butter (I use Kerrygold)
8oz all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur AP or Bread Flour)
4oz cornflour (I used Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal)
4oz powdered sugar
Pre-heat oven to 300°F.
Mix the butter and the powdered sugar together until pale and smooth. Add the flour and cornflour and mix until dough is formed. A hand-mixer works best here.
Roll out the dough to approximately ½” thickness, and cut out in the shape of your choice. I used a small biscuit cutter. I had about 2 dozen from my biscuit size, but it all depends on how you cut them.
Place on a cookie sheet and prick the tops with a fork.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they start to turn golden, keeping a watchful eye throughout the baking process as cooking times vary. In my oven, they were very much done at 20 minutes, but the recipe I found suggested 45. US ovens are not the same as European ovens!
Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack before enjoying.
Sláinte, Sassenach.
