A swathe of converts

Published on Monday 28 April 2008 20:42

THE worst is over. With the brighter mornings and lighter evenings come the first signs of life in the garden and the sense that eating Scottish will soon be easier.

Starting in the darkest days of winter was an enormous challenge – and probably a mistake – but we have made it through the mountains of kale and turnip and now have more on the menu. Our weekly vegetable box from Damhead Organics contains new and interesting things as the seasons change. I'm also about to take our experiment into the garden, sowing seeds for salad vegetables that will hopefully feed us in the summer.

A visit to Galloway earlier this month cemented our determination to see this through. At a village pub, the special of the day was Barnsley Lamb. We'd spent the day among fields full of local lambs, but the menu ignored that in favour of something probably frozen and then sent up the M6.

For pubs and restaurants relying on the giant catering supply companies, sourcing local produce can be a real challenge. But for those prepared to make the effort, there are real rewards.

The executive chef at the Bonham Hotel in Edinburgh, Michel Bouyer, is committed to using Scottish produce and last week it was the scene of one of my best meals of the year so far. The restaurant's current seasonal menu features proper cullen skink followed by scallops with white pudding, Aberdeen Angus beef with baby leeks and a textbook raspberry souffle. At a still-tricky time of the year, it is a tribute to the range and quality of produce around us and will hopefully provide indigestion to those who think eating Scottish means shortbread and scurvy.

This month we put our commitment to eat Scottish to the test with a visit to a Chinese restaurant for a friend's birthday dinner. The menu was enormous, but only the rainbow trout came from Scotland. Everything else was imported: the beef, the prawns, the chicken and the pork.

Seasonal and local usually means tastier and fresher, so we as consumers need to start asking questions and making demands to get the kind of food we deserve. This week on STV's five thirty show, Edinburgh chef Tony Singh cooked me a delicious curry based around Scottish ingredients which he believes to be some of the best in the world. If the demand is there, the market will respond. Three months in to this experiment, I'm no longer afraid to ask where my dinner comes from and to suggest a switch to local producers.

The best way to convert someone is by word of mouth. This month we cooked a big dinner for friends – the first time since our Burns Night epiphany. I feared we might struggle to fill the places around the table as people suddenly remembered long-forgotten previous appointments. Instead, everyone seemed really keen to share the experience. And after Shetland salmon mousse, Perthshire lamb with roast winter vegetables and Border fudge cheesecake, we'd signed up some more people for the eating Scottish cause.

Hopefully more converts are on their way. Next month, STV has pledged to switch to Scottish produce in the canteen for a week; First Scotrail has agreed to do likewise. I've challenged other major Scottish employers to follow their lead. If a company really cares about Scotland, such a change is a small gesture to make.

Back home, we're definitely spending less time and money in the supermarket and convenience foods have disappeared from our diet. The contrast is more time spent shopping and preparing food – simply thinking in advance about what to eat. Unfortunately, we know the taste of forbidden fruit, especially bananas. We're also craving crunchy broccoli and I can't think about sweet garden peas without feeling weak at the knees. But I've bought the seeds and with some patience and sunshine, home-grown Scottish peas should be on our plate this summer.

QUICK CULLEN SKINK

1oz butter

1 onion, chopped

1 diced potato

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

splash white wine

500ml/17fl oz vegetable stock

110ml/4fl oz cream

1 smoked haddock fillet, chopped

Method

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.

2. Add the onion, garlic and potato and saut for two minutes.

3. Add the splash of wine and stir well to collect the cooking juices.

4. Pour in the stock and cream.

5. Add the haddock and allow the soup to simmer for six minutes.