Recipes for St Andrew’s Day

Roast Venison by Doug Lindsay of Ubiquitous Chip. Picture: Robert Perry

HEAD Chef Doug Lindsay introduces three dishes from the Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow using the very best produce Scotland has to offer “I have always been passionate about food and cooking, although initially I didn’t imagine it would be my career. It was only when I took a job washing pots and pans at Glasgow restaurant Stravaigin, while considering what to do after university, that the buzz and adrenaline witnessed in a professional kitchen took a hold of me.

“Now working at the Ubiquitous Chip, I have a job which is as demanding as it is rewarding. No two days are the same, and of course there is something incredibly satisfying about cooking. I have been lucky to have been given the freedom to experiment and work with the abundance of terrific produce Scotland has to offer. With the changing seasons bringing a variety of ingredients to work with, you are constantly learning.

“This job has its ups and downs and it certainly isn’t for everybody, but although I didn’t set out to be a chef, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

SEARED SCALLOPS, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, MALT LOAF BREADCRUMBS, HAZELNUT BUTTER AND CRISPY SEAWEED

Scotland is rightly renowned for scallops, but why not buy them live and shuck them yourself at home? You will notice the difference.

Serves 4

• 12 scallops

• 1 pack of dried dulse seaweed

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled

• a small malt loaf

• 50g roast hazelnuts, crushed

• 250g butter

Toast the malt loaf and allow to cool before chopping finely to resemble breadcrumbs.

Melt 100g butter in a small pan, then allow the butter to brown until nutty in aroma. Strain through a tea strainer and allow to cool slightly before stirring through the hazelnuts. Add salt to taste.

Using an apple corer, cut eight cylinders about an inch long from the solid part of the squash, roughly chop and steam the remainder, purée with a little olive oil, salt and white pepper to the consistency of a thick soup.

Melt 150g butter in a small pan, add a pinch of salt and gently cook the squash cylinders until tender.

Deep fry the dried seaweed for a few seconds until crisp.

To cook the scallops, sear each side in a hot frying pan with a little oil just long enough to caramelise the surface and allow the centre to warm though, takes 2-3 minutes.

Place three pools of squash purée on each plate arranging the scallops and squash cylinders on top, drizzle with hazelnut butter and breadcrumbs, garnish with fried seaweed.

ROAST VENISON, CONFIT TURNIP, BABY VEGETABLES, SAUTÉED KALE AND WILD MUSHROOMS, CHESTNUT PURÉE AND PORT REDUCTION

Game dishes always prove popular with our customers and none more so than venison.

Serves 4

• 4 x 120g pieces of venison loin or haunch

• 1 turnip

• 2 baby fennel, halved

• 2 baby turnips, halved

• 150g winter chanterelle or similar

• 4 stalks of kale, leaves blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes and refreshed in cold water

• 25g butter

• 750g duck fat, melted

• 1 sprig of thyme

• 100g cooked chestnuts

• 200ml milk

• 250ml port

• 1.5l game or chicken stock

• 1 tbsp rowanberry jelly

Peel the turnip and cut into 1½ cm slices. Using a small round cookie cutter, cut into four discs. Combine the turnip discs, baby veg and thyme in a small roasting tin and cover with the duck fat, season and cook in a low oven at 90C/Gas Mark ¼ for about 1 hour or until cooked through.

In a saucepan, gently simmer the port until reduced by three quarters, add the stock and keep reducing to achieve a light gravy consistency, finish with the rowanberry jelly and set aside.

Simmer the chestnuts with the milk, season and purée until smooth.

Season the venison portions with salt and black pepper, seal in a hot pan and cook in the oven at 180C/Gas Mark 4 for about 4 mins for medium rare, or to your preference. Allow to rest while you plate the remainder.

Sauté the mushrooms in the butter for 2 minutes, add the kale and cook for a further minute, season to taste.

Place a spoonful of chestnut purée in the centre of each plate, arrange the vegetables around it, slice the venison in half and spoon over some port sauce.

HONEY AND OATMEAL PARFAIT WITH POACHED WINTER FRUITS

This parfait recipe will make more than four servings, but the rest will keep happily in the freezer. By poaching whatever fruit is in season, you can serve this all year round as it works equally well with soft fruits or berries. Just adjust the poaching time.

Serves 4 (or more)

• 500ml red wine

• 100g caster sugar

• 1 vanilla pod, halved

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 star anise

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 cloves

• 1 quince, peeled and cored

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored

• 1 pear, peeled and cored

For the parfait

• 3 egg whites

• 70g caster sugar

• 4 egg yolks

• 50ml whisky

• 50g honey

• 500g double cream

• 50g pinhead oatmeal, toasted

• 100g breadcrumbs, toasted in a little butter and sugar

For the poached fruits

Chop the fruits into equal sized pieces.

Bring the red wine to the boil for approximately 1 min, add all other ingredients (except the fruit) and bring to a simmer.

Poach the quince for approximately 10 minutes, add the pears and apple, cover with greaseproof paper and poach for a further 10 minutes, or until tender.

Remove the cooked fruit from the pan and set aside, bring the syrup to the boil stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly. Allow to cool before mixing with the fruit.

For the parfait

In a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk the egg yolks with 20g sugar, whisky and honey until the mixture has increased in volume and thickened, remove from the heat and continue whisking until pale and cooled.

Softly whip the double cream and fold into the egg yolk mixture.

Whisk the egg whites with 50g of the sugar to soft peaks and fold into the yolks and cream.

Stir through the pinhead oatmeal and pour the parfait mix into your desired mould and freeze until set.

Roll in the toasted breadcrumbs and serve with the poached fruits.For the poached fruits

• Doug Lindsay is head chef at the Ubiquitous Chip, which opened in 1971 and has since become a Glasgow icon. It was recently awarded the Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year for Scotland (12 Ashton Lane, Glasgow, 0141-334 5007, www.ubiquitouschip.co.uk).

Tom Kitchin: St Andrew’s Day brings out the best in Scottish ingredients

AS A genuine ambassador of Scotland’s incredible natural larder, I relish the opportunity to revive some traditional Scottish heritage in my recipes, but also give them a modern twist.

St Andrew’s Day is a great chance for us all to share in the very best of Scotland. And unlike Burns Night, the menu is a little more open to interpretation. Scottish classics such as sheep’s heid broth, Cullen skink or cock-a-leekie soup, are often followed by haggis, neeps and tatties, Scotch lamb or glorious game.

And many great recipes can taste even greater if we use the wonderful wealth of produce around us, giving them a Scottish twist.

We’re renowned for our great game, local fruits, first-class fresh seafood and meat produced on our luscious land, but many diners at our restaurants are surprised to see how many of our cheeses are produced right here in Scotland. We have a long tradition of making cheese and many Scottish cheeses are still produced on small family-run creameries using traditional techniques. Cheddars from Mull and Orkney are outstanding, but there’s a wide range of other cheeses to be found locally, including deliciously creamy Highland Crowdie; blue cheeses such as Dunsyre Blue and Lanark Blue, goat’s milk cheese such as Ailsa Craig and Biggar Blue, as well as so many more. My recipes this week offer some ideas that can be cooked either in bite-size to enjoy if you’re planning a celebration with friends, or can be made on a grander scale if you’re planning a sit-down menu. They also make wonderful treats and canapés in the run-up to the festive season and taste great matched with local ales. Scottish artisan breweries, such as Stewart Brewing and Fyne Ales, have really upped their game in recent years and St Andrew’s Day is another great excuse to try some beers that originate in Scotland.

As a reminder of our great land and sea, we often give our guests at the restaurant a little map of Scotland, highlighting exactly where every ingredient they enjoy is from. You can try doing the same at home with your guests.

BREADED CARLUKE HAGGIS BALLS WITH PICKLED NEEPS

A pint of Black IPA from Stewart Brewing is an ideal match for the spicy kick of the haggis.

Makes around 25

Haggis

450g good quality haggis

2 eggs, beaten with a little milk

(egg wash)

50g plain flour

100g plain breadcrumbs

Neeps

½ turnip (neeps)

1 litre water

150g caster sugar

1 bay leaf

3 thyme sprigs

6 black peppercorns

1–2 garlic cloves

1 tsp salt

150ml white wine vinegar

Method

First prepare the pickled neeps. Peel and thinly slice the turnip. Meanwhile, bring the rest of the ingredients to the boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, drop in the turnip slices and leave to infuse for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the haggis from its bag and divide into small pieces, then roll into balls. Prepare three bowls with the following ingredients – one with flour, one with the egg wash and one with the breadcrumbs. Coat the haggis balls in flour, dip into the egg to coat, and then finally roll in the breadcrumbs. Store in the fridge before cooking. When ready, remove the pickled neeps from the liquid and cut into thin strips. Set aside. Pile the neep strips on to warm plates. Deep-fry the haggis balls in vegetable oil for 3 minutes, then drain on kitchen paper. To serve, place the haggis balls on a tray or plate, and lay the pickled neeps over the top.

MULL CHEDDAR CHEESE STRAWS WITH CARAWAY SEEDS

These appetisers are perfect washed down with a lovely Sanda Blonde IPA from Fyne Ales Scotland.

Makes about 25

400g plain flour

20g sea salt

500g full-flavoured Mull Cheddar, grated

10g caraway seeds

30g English mustard

225g butter, melted

Method

Mix the flour, salt, cheese and caraway seeds together in a bowl until evenly combined. Add the mustard and butter and mix to bind together to a smooth, firm dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Unwrap the pastry and roll out in two or three batches to a 1cm thickness. (At this stage, wrap and chill or freeze any dough you are not serving straight away). Cut the dough into strips, about 10cm long and 1cm wide, and place slightly apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes until golden brown. Carefully transfer the cheese straws to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

BORDERS GAME TERRINE

Edinburgh Gold from Stewart Brewing stands up to these bold, gamey flavours perfectly.

Serves 10

400g livers – game

400g pork fat

400g pork throat or belly

400g mixed game – pheasant, mallard, grouse

3-4 whole eggs

400ml cream

400g bread crumbs

100g dried apricots

200g streaky bacon

Salt and pepper for seasoning

You will also need a large terrine or loaf tin

Method

Mince the livers, pork fat, throat, game and apricot together in a bowl. Add the egg, cream and bread crumbs and mix together, seasoning with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 2. Take a terrine mould, and line with clingfilm, then lay streaky bacon over the clingfilm in overlapping layers. Leave enough clingfilm and bacon hanging over the edges so it can be folded over the top of the terrine. Pour the

game mixture into the terrine. Fold the bacon over the top and then cover with the clingfilm. Gently pierce a few holes in the top and cover with a piece of aluminium foil. Place in the oven and cook for 2½ to 3 hours. To check that it has cooked, you can insert a needle into the terrine. If you then hold the needle to your lip and it’s warm, you’ll know it’s cooked. Once cooked, remove and leave to cool. Once cool, leave the terrine in the fridge overnight to set properly. Slice when ready and serve with thin crisps of toast and chutney.