These Scottish Venison Meatballs are so easy to make, and much better that the shop-bought versions. To go with them I’m making a mushroom and whisky sauce to toss through buttered Tagliatelle. The dish uses ingredients abundant in the Scottish countryside, perfect for autumntime when a variety of wild mushrooms are available to use.
Fattoush is a great summer salad perfect for eating al fresco with a friends or a barbeque. This is a rustic country salad from Syria and Lebanon that uses a dressing make from buttermilk. This gives the salad a smooth let sharp finish that makes it so refreshing.
How To Be A Shortbread Expert. There are thousands of recipes for shortbread, and an equal number of opinions as to the ingredients, methods, and baking. I suppose really you could think of shortbread as posh pastry, uplifted to celebrity status. The fundamentals of making shortbread are very like pastry and it would be worth reading our post on ‘Getting to grips with pastry.’ To put things into perspective.
The big barrier to getting crisp, light shortbread is gluten so a low protein plain flour, maximum 10% must be used. Shipton Mill do a nice Organic Soft Cake and Pastry White Flour with just over 9% protein.
This is a gluten free agent added into the flour to further reduce the protein in the flour and make it lighter.
Cornflour, always on hand and disappears into the flour perfectly. Use if you need a biscuit with a good snap Overdoing the quantity can make a dry powdery finish in the mouth.
Rice flour gives a rougher texture to the dough with a crumbly nature.
Ground almonds, make the dough crumblier, but also heavier. They also need a dash of almond essence to boost their flavour.
Some people like granulated sugar to give a gritty texture, but I’m not a fan.
Caster Sugar is a common choice and gives a good result. Golden caster offers a little more flavour in the dough.
Icing sugar is my preferred choice, unrefined sugar could also be used.
Use the best unsalted butter you can. The lower the water content of the butter the better the shortbread will be. While it may seem counter intuitive some chef’s lower quality use a pastry butter / margarine instead of superior quality dairy butter. This is because the pastry butter has an exceptionally low moisture content. The shortbread is crisper, but the flavour suffers.
True shortbread dough should be au natural, but I sometimes use a little vanilla to enhance the flavour of the butter. You could also add some chocolate chips or citrus zest if you like. Try sprinkling demerara sugar on the surface of the dough before cooking to add a sweet crunch.
Some small tweaks here to make the lightest shortbread. I use a two to one mix of plain flour and cornflour to really reduce the gluten content. I also like to add a touch of baking powder to help the dough rise in the oven and become airier. Finally, we use icing sugar to make a nice smooth dough. I like to roll the dough into logs and then slice the biscuits off (see below). This minimises stretching, and toughening the dough.
Here the rice flour helps lighten the dough. The texture of the rice flour is coarser, hence the ‘Sandy’ nature of the shortbread
This recipe uses ground almonds to reduce the gluten content of the flour. Along with the egg yolk this makes the shortbread richer abet slightly heavier.
Mix the butter icing sugar, vanilla, and salt (Unless you’re using salted butter) on low speed in the mixer until smooth. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and cream the butter mix for three to four minutes. The mix should become soft and lighten.
Bring the speed of the mixer back to low and add the sifted flours mixing only just enough to incorporate the flour. Take extra care not to overwork the dough! It is better to finish the mixing of the dough by hand The lighter this is done the better the final shortbread will be.
Rollout the dough carefully dusting with a little flour as you go. Don’t be too vigorous with the rolling and turn the dough as you go. This will Roll the dough to the required thickness according to use and cut out with a cutter dipped in flour on each cut.
The remaining dough can be brought together once more then re rolled and cut again. Discard and dough left over from the second rolling.
If you can’t be bothered with all that rolling, and don’t mind slightly rustic biscuits there’s another option. Bring the dough together and split into two. Roll each dough into a log 4cm in diameter and wrap in greaseproof paper. Chill for 15 minutes, then slice into 1cm rounds.
Lay the biscuits out onto a baking sheet and prick with a fork. Leave to rest for about 15 minutes, use that time to heat up the oven read for baking. Bake the shortbread in the centre of the oven at 160° for roughly until light golden brown around the edges.
As the biscuits are removed from the oven dust with caster sugar and allow to cool before storage.
If you don’t have a food mixer you can make the dough in a food processor, or by hand. The processor makes a decent job of the creaming, but great care is needed not to overwork the dough when the flour is added. I would recommend using the processor just to cream the butter and sugar and then work in the flour by hand.
Yes, the best way of doing this is to carefully roll the dough into a log about 5cm in diameter. Wrap the log in greaseproof paper, then freeze on a tray. To bake, remove the cling film from the logs and slice into 5mm thick discs. Lay the biscuits out onto a baking tray, then place in the oven for around 8 minutes, until nicely golden brown.
I always do, but some people choose to use the rubbing in method. Mix the flour and sugar together then rub the cold diced butter in with your fingers or a pastry knife.
This will make a very crumbly shortbread with very little snap.
Easy, make the dough as described above. Line a rectangular baking tin with baking paper leaving a good overlap at the sides. Press the dough into the tin to a dept of 2cm than prick the dough all over with a fork. Leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes then bake as above. When cooked, remove from the oven, and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then using the paper overlap, carefully lift the shortbread out onto a chopping board. Take a cook’s knife and using a guillotine like motion cut the shortbread into fingers. Let the shortbread cool completely before removing from the paper.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
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© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Vanilla Panna Cotta must be one of the easiest desserts to make, but perhaps harder to get exactly right. Success depends on using the best ingredients and taking care to blend them perfectly. Read on to learn just how to do that.
Why Not Make Your Own Easy Flatbreads at home? It’s much easier than you think, and makes an impressive addition served with snacks and dips when entertaining
Baba Ganoush is easy to make at home and so much nicer then the bought in versions. Serve it as a snack or as part of a mezze spread with warmed Pita breads. Why not go the whole hog and try our recipe to make your own flatbreads and impress your guests even more.
Baba Ganoush is commonly eaten throughout Syria and Lebanon and is traditionally made with aubergines roasted over an open fire. Great if you have one available, but I’ve explained how to do this in your kitchen at home.
I prefer to use Roast Garlic for this recipe as its less pungent and makes for a more delicate yet flavourful dish. If you don’t want to go to the bother of roasting garlic, have a look at the F.A.Qs below for a tip to mellow fresh garlic. If you do, look up our post on How to Be a Garlic Expert, to see how to do it, it’s easy!
Take the aubergines and prick them all over with a small knife. This is to stop the possibility of the aubergines exploding when handled. Getting covered in boiling hot aubergine is definitely not recommended.
Rub the skins with a dash of oil then place them on a tray in a very hot oven. Set the oven as high as it will go. Alternatively, if you cook on gas and don’t mind the mess just pop the aubergine directly over the open flame. This is the traditional was of cooking the aubergines and adds a smokie hint to the mixture. You could of course use the barbeque to do this as well.
After about 20 minutes the aubergines should be ready. If doing this in the oven I also like to attack them with a chef’s blowtorch. This will add a little of the flavour we are missing by using the oven. If you’re not sure on how to do this safely don’t try it, it’s not essential to the dish.
Carefully slice each aubergine oven then let them cool for five minutes.
The skin should just peel off the flesh. If it’s too hot to handle place one in a sieve set over a bowl and scoop out the flesh from the skin with a spoon.
When all the flesh is in the sieve, discard the skins, then spread the flesh around the sides of the sieve, pressing it lightly. The objective is to strain off as much liquid as possible from the flesh, you will be amazed how much is released from the flesh.
Tip the flesh from the sieve into a mixing bowl, we want the mix to be rustic with some texture. But if you want the mix to be totally smooth and creamy use a small food processor. Don’t run the machine constantly, just pulse it or the mix will be too watery.
Add the roast garlic, salt, chilli flakes, Sumac and Tahini. Work the ingredients together with a spatula. If some bits refuse to break down use a table fork to soften them down.
Add the olive oil and half of the lemon juice and mix again. Have a taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed. Be generous with the lemon juice as it will lighten the mix and give a fresh tang to the aubergine.
When you are happy with the flavour, cover the bowl and leave the mixture to stand for at least an hour before serving. Make it the day before by all means, store it in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before serving.
Spread the mixture out onto a deep plate. Using a bowl spoils the presentation and makes it more difficult to serve yourself.
Sprinkle the surface with toasted pine kernels and a few pomegranate seeds. The sharpness of the pomegranate works well against the rich mixture.
Finish with some chopped parsley and I like to use a little herb oil to top things off.
Yes, we can just use fresh garlic. I would only use 1- 1½ cloves for the recipe as its much stronger than the roasted version.
Peel and crush garlic, squeeze the juice from the lemon then steep the sliced garlic in the juice for 20 minutes. This will take some of the fierceness off the garlic. The garlic and the juice can then both be used in the recipe.
Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds and olive oil. Some varieties may also include some sesame oil for added punch. It is used as a thickening and flavouring ingredient in middle eastern cooking. Don’t just limit it to that, it makes a good dip, salad dressing, or just have it on toast!
Sumac is the ground berry of a shrub found in the middle east and parts of Europe.
The berries are deseeded, dried and ground into a powdered spice.
It has a deep crimson-red colour and is a really useful spice to lift fish and vegetable dishes. It has a tangy slightly sour flavour. Think of it like a powdered slightly sweet lemon juice. Great for bringing out flavours in food.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
How to make Hummus. It’s easy to make this classic middle eastern snack, better and fresher than the bought version. Its smooth healthy, and full of flavour. And once you have mastered the process there is a wealth of other flavours you can add to the basic mix.
Flavoured Butters are one of the easiest ways of putting flavour onto a dish. I simply can’t think of anything else you can that make that will transform your cooking so quickly and efficiently. Imagine a simple jacket potato lifted by adding cheesy bacon butter. Boring cooked rice given a punch with lime, ginger, chilli, and coriander butter. Or a grilled chicken breast topped with harissa flavoured butter, amazing!
Scottish Cullen Skink is one of my favourite dishes. It is a rich fish soup with leek and potatoes and its name originates from Cullen a small fishing village on the Northeast coast of Scotland. And the term ‘Skink is derived from the Gaelic for ‘essence’ a good description of the aroma of fishy peat smoke coming from the haddock.
You could serve this as a starter, but it’s a hearty soup more suited to a supper main course or Lunchtime treat. If you are in Appin and can’t, be bothered with all the cooking pop into The Pierhouse Hotel (at the pier) for a warming plate full of Skink.
To get the very best flavour from the dish look for pale, sometimes called peat smoked haddock. This is fish which has been cured and smoked in the traditional method. Try a good fishmonger to find it. In the supermarkets you are more likely to find its bright yellow cousin which has not had much if any time in the smoker. And has been coated in colour and flavour. If that’s all you can get, it will still work but will not as deeply be flavoured as the real thing. You will just have to travel to Scotland and experience real Skink.
750g skin on peat smoked haddock fillet, about 600g after trimming.
Take the smoked haddock and remove the skin (it should just pull off with a bit of persuasion) and any bones. Cut the fish into roughly 3cm chunks and set aside. Place the skin bones and any trimmings into a saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Pass the stock though a fine strainer and refrigerate until needed. This can be done the day before cooking the Skink.
Don’t be tempted to add salt at all until the very end of cooking and then only after tasting. The smoked haddock itself is salty, which should be enough for the whole dish.
Give the leek a rinse then cut into two longways. Open out the two halves and slice into strips about 1.5cm wide. Turn the strips around and then slice across to make squares of leek. Finely chop the shallot then slice the garlic into thin slices. Crushing the garlic would make it too strong in the dish.
Add the butter to the saucepan and place over a low heat. When the butter has melted, add the leek, shallots, and garlic. Notice we are not using any onion in this recipe. Onions contain too much sugar and will put a sweet tone into the skink, that we want to avoid. Cook the vegetables for about five minutes and while they are cooking, deal with the potatoes.
Cut the potato into chips with about 1.5cm sides. Slice the chips across approximately 3mm thick to produce little square slices of potato.
Add the potatoes to the pan followed by the stock milk and cream. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 6-8 minutes then add the fish.
Return the pan to the simmer and cook for another 6 minutes stirring occasionally. Don’t worry is the fish and potatoes break up a little, that will thicken the Skink. Add two or three turns of the peppermill and taste.
Serve in deep wide plates scattered with chopped chives and plenty of crusty bread to soak up the juices.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
How to Become a Garlic Expert, every time you cook is often a mystery to the British. While other cultures across the world utilise garlic in many forms, we simply push a clove of garlic into a crude metal press and squeeze the life out of the clove into whatever we think will benefit from a hit of flavour. Leaning how to use garlic properly will open up avenue in your cooking.
One of life’s guilty pleasures has to be a bowl of hot mashed potato. And it is one of the most versatile products that we can use to create a great plate of food. They can be used to form a foundation for the presentation, provide a contrasting texture on the plate, and become ‘a vehicle of flavour’. That is, they become a method of adding a complimentary flavour to a plate. Such as horseradish mash with beef, or saffron mash with fish. In a similar way, they can absorb flavour on a plate such as the gravy of a stew or braise.
Braised Oxtail is my idea of heaven on a cold winter’s day. So, with the frost on the ground and minus five on the thermometer I decided the time was right to get cooking.
For me Braised Oxtail is the pinnacle of meat eating. Its not difficult to cook, but it does take a little time. If the idea of having the oven on for such a long cook, use a slow cooker to do most of the cooking. That leaves only the start and finishing to be done on the hob.
If you like meat, have a look at our Food Files page on British Beef Cuts for more exiting cut and joints to try.
Peel the shallots been careful not to remove the root. Remove the carrots tops then lightly scrape the skin. Peel the swede and celeriac and cut into 1.5cm cubes allowing roughly three per person. I used a melon baller on the swede just to improve the presentation.
Oxtail has such a meaty flavour it benefits from using lots of vegetables. To help things along we gently cook the finishing vegetables in the beef stock first, so all their flavour compliments the finished sauce.
Cook the vegetables in the stock until just tender, then strain keeping the stock. The sage leaves and parsley will be used later. Put the vegetables to one side for later use.
This is an old but very convenient method of using herbs on the stem in a liquid and removing them without difficulty.
You will need a length of cotton butchers’ twine, DON’T use nylon string as it will affect the flavour of the sauce. You need two short lengths of celery, an outer leaf of leek cut the same length as the celery and the herbs you are using. For us its thyme and bay leaf.
Place the herbs into the depression in a stick of celery, then place the second stick of celery on top. Wrap this parcel using the leek then tie the whole thing together with the string.
Chefs often leave a long piece of string on the bouquet garni after tying. This can be left hanging or tied to the lid and make removal of the herbs easy.
Peel the carrots for the braise and roughly cut into 3cm sections. Repeat that for the onions and give the garlic a bash to bruise it, but don’t peel it.
Put a large heavy casserole on to a high heat, and when hot add the oil into the pan and brown the oxtail on all sides. You may need to do this in two stages. When browned all over lift each section out onto a plate and when all the meat is browned add the vegetables without the garlic to the pan and brown well without burning. Tip the contents of the pan into a colander to allow any excess fat to drain off. Once drained return the vegetables to the pan and place back on the heat.
Now it’s time to add the tomato puree. To get the best flavour for the puree and take away the raw taste we need to caramelise it. As the vegetables are frying, add the puree and mix into the vegetables. Keep stirring the pan keeping the red wine ready at hand and once the tomato puree and browned slightly add the wine. Remember, there is a difference between caramel and carbon!
Tip the wine into the hot pan scraping the base of the pan with the spatula to lift the caramelised juices into the wine.
Add the stock the vegetables were cooked in and bring to the simmer. Add the bruised garlic, passata, and bouquet garni. Return the oxtail to the pan along with and juices sitting on the plate and return to the simmer.
You can now transfer the braise to a pre-heated slow cooker to cook for about 5 hours Alternatively over the surface of the meat firstly with a disc of paper then place a tight-fitting lid on the casserole and cook in the oven at 140-150c for roughly three hours.
When the oxtail is cooked the meat should be tender and almost falling off the bone. When ready remove from the heat and let the contents cool a little.
Carefully lift the joints of meat out of the sauce then strain the liquid through a fine strainer, lightly pressing the vegetable to get every last drop of juices into the sauce. Discard the vegetables and leave the sauce to stand for 10 minutes.
Using a small ladle carful skim off any fat sitting on the surface of the sauce. If you don’t have a ladle small enough an old tablespoon bent at 90˚ works well.
Give the pan a wipe out with kitchen paper, then return the sauce to the pan and bring back to the simmer. Let the sauce reduce in volume to thicken tasting as you go. The tomato puree and passata will provide some natural thickening. If you need to thicken the sauce, further use a little diluted arrowroot. DON’T use cornflour, it will spoil the clarity and gloss of the sauce.
When you are happy with the taste and consistency of the sauce return the meat to the pan and keep warm.
Are struggling with a sauce or stock that has meat fat on it like a roast or braise?
Drop a couple of large ice cubes into the liquid. They need to be well above the level of the liquid so it may help to pour the liquid into a tray before adding the ice.
As you move the ice around the tray the fat will set and adhere to the ice, which can then be removed easily. Yes, a little water will dissolve into the sauce, but this is easily evaporated later by simmering.
Heat a shallow pan and add 3 tbsp of olive oil and heat. Carefully fry the sage leaves in the oil, they will sizzle and bubble, becoming crisp. When crisp, lift each leaf out of the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
When all the leaves are fried remove 80% of the remaining oil from the pan. Take the finishing vegetables, and but the shallots in half longways through the root. Add the vegetable sot the hot pan and roast them in the hot sage oil.
When the vegetables are a nice golden-brown lift them out of the pan onto kitchen paper to drain well.
Take your serving dish and using a pair of tongs, lift the sections of hot oxtail on to the dish.
Strain the sauce one last time, then pour the finished sauce over the joints. Arrange the finishing vegetables around the meat and add the sage leaves. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve with mashed potato and green vegetables. Make sure to check out our post on How to make Perfect Mashed Potatoes to get the very best partner to your oxtail.
Enjoy life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
These Italian delicate almond cookies with a melt in the mouth centre are usually enjoyed during Christmas time in Tuscany. Try them out as an alternative to or in addition to mince pies when entertaining guest over the holiday.
This simple Duck Confit is both rustic and refined. The process of curing and cooking the meat in fat produces a flavour unobtainable buy any other method. And I love it! I’m serving the confit with a Lentil, Bacon, and Chestnuts Stew, a great winter warmer.