Abernethy Biscuits (Scotland)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon milk
Pinch of salt

Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar together. Rub in butter until mixture looks like bread crumbs.

Dissolve sugar in milk; stir into flour/butter mixture. Form into stiff dough. Roll out to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into squares; prick all over. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Yields about 10 biscuits.

Bannock Bread (Scottish)

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup Crisco®
1/2 cup water to make a thick dough

Mix dry ingredients together well. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender. Mix in the water and knead until the dough is very smooth, about 15 minutes.

Grease a cast iron frying pan, including the sides, and press the dough into the pan. Bake on top of the stove over low heat. Watch carefully so that the bread does not brown or burn before the center is cooked. When the bread is free from the pan, turn the loaf over and continue to cook. The total cooking time will be about 10 minutes on each side.

Black Fruitcake

This is an English cake. It is also known as Dark Fruitcake, English Fruitcake and Merry Christmas Cake.

1/4 pound candied citron
1/8 pound candied lemon peel
1/8 pound candid orange peel
1/2 pound candied cherries
1 pound candied pineapple
1 pound golden raisins
1/2 pound seeded raisins
1/4 pound currants
1/2 cup dark rum, cognac, sherry or Madeira
1/4 pound blanched shelled pecans
1/4 pound shelled walnuts or pecans
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon almond extract

Prepare fruits and nuts a day ahead. Sliver the citron, lemon and orange peel into very thin strips; cut cherries in half and pineapple in thin wedges. Set aside. Pick over raisins and currants to eliminate stray stems or seeds; add rum, cognac, sherry or Madeira, and soak overnight. Chop almonds and walnuts or pecans coarsely. Set them aside, also.

The following day, grease a 10-inch tube pan, four 1-pound coffee cans, or 2 bread pans measuring 9 x 5 x 3 inches. Line with brown paper.

To make the cake, mix 1/2 cup of the sifted flour with all the fruits and nuts in a large bowl. Sift remaining flour with spices and baking soda. Cream butter until soft, then work in granulated sugar and brown sugar, a little at a time, until mixture is smooth. Stir in the eggs, milk, almond extract and flour mixture. Mix thoroughly. Pour over the fruit and nuts and work together with your hands until batter is very well mixed. Lift the batter into the pan or pans and press it down firmly to make a compact cake when cooked. Bake at 275 degrees F. A tube pan that uses all the batter will take 3 1/4 hours. The bread pans, which will each hold half the batter, will take 2 1/4 hours. The coffee cans, which each hold one-fourth of the batter, will take 2 hours.

Remove cakes from oven, let stand 30 minutes, then turn out onto cake racks. Peel off the brown paper very carefully. The four small, round cakes make attractive Christmas gifts.

To age fruitcakes, allow at least four weeks. Wrap each cake in several layers of cheesecloth well soaked in rum, cognac, sherry or Madeira. Place in an airtight container, such as a large crock or kettle, and cover tightly. If cheesecloth dries out, moisten it with a little of the wine or spirits. Do not overdo it. The cakes should be firm, not soft, at the end of the aging period. This will make them easy to slice in neat, compact slices. If you wish to frost fruitcakes after they have been properly aged, cover the top first with Almond Paste, then with Milk Frosting. To decorate, make a garland of candied cherries, slivered angelica, and blanched whole almonds around the edge of the cake.

Almond Paste
1 pound blanched almonds
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract or 2 teaspoons rose water

Work almonds through a food grinder or blend in an electric blender. Thoroughly mix in confectioners' sugar. Beat egg whites slightly, then stir into the almond mixture. Add almond extract or rose water, using your hands to blend the heavy mixture.

Milk Frosting
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, milk and butter in a saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Then boil, without stirring, until a few drops tested in cold water form a soft ball. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract, and beat until frosting is of spreading consistency. Spread over top of cake letting it dribble down the sides. If frosting becomes too stiff to spread, melt in top of double boiler over boiling water, then beat again.

Broonie (Scotland)

1/2 cup medium oatmeal
2 heaping tablespoons butter
1 scant teaspoon baking powder
1 beaten egg
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons black treacle (molasses)
1 cup buttermilk, divided
1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger

Mix oatmeal and flour thoroughly in large bowl. Rub in butter. Add the sugar, salt, ginger and baking powder; mix well.

Melt treacle until warm. Stir in beaten egg and half the buttermilk. Stir mixture into flour, adding buttermilk gradually. Stop when mixture is soft enough to drop from a spoon. Amply grease a tin about 8 inches by 4 inches. Add mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 1/4 hours or until well risen. Test to ensure it is cooked in center by inserting a thin skewer.

Let cool for a few minutes before removing from tin. Cool on a rack; leave overnight if possible to let it set.

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Smoked Haddock with White Sauce (Finnan Haddie with White Sauce - Scotland)

This is a Scottish tradition which is often served for breakfast. Add potatoes, and it becomes a main meal. The name comes from Findon, a village renowned for the industry of curing fish. "Haddie" is a slang term for haddock.

1 pound smoked haddock or smoked cod fillets
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cut fish into 1-inch pieces, removing any bones and skin. Heat butter in skillet until melted; add fish and onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes.

Stir milk gradually into cornstarch in 1-quart saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour over fish. Simmer uncovered until fish flakes easily with fork, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with boiled or baked potatoes if desired.

Yields 4 servings.

Trout with Bacon (Brythyll a Chig Moch — Wales)

Serve this with carrots and peas as the English do.

12 slices bacon
6 drawn whole trout (about 5 ounces each)
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
Minced parsley

Arrange bacon in single layer in broiler pan. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes; drain. Sprinkle inside of fish with 2 tablespoons parsley, salt and pepper. arrange fish in single layer on bacon in pan. Cover and cook until fish flakes easily with fork, about 20 minutes. Split fish down center along backbone; remove as many bones as possible.

Serve each fish with 2 bacon slices. Garnish with parsley.

Yields 6 servings.

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English Beef Steak Pie

1 pound boneless round steak, trimmed
6 to 8 russet potatoes, pealed and cubed
1 large onion, sliced and separated
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup water
1 pie crust (to cover top of pie)

In a deep glass baking dish (either round or square, Corning or glass), layer meat, potato and onion, sprinkling flour over each layer. Salt and pepper each layer. Pour water slowly over layers and top with rolled out crust. Roll edges of crust under around the edge and flute to seal edges to pan. Vent with knife several times. Bake at 350 degrees F for about one hour until water bubbles and gravy have formed. Pierce with a cake tester through vents for doneness of potatoes.

Serve with a green salad.

English Sausage Rolls

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1 dash poultry seasoning
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 pound ground sausage

Mix together flour, margarine and water to form soft dough ball. Roll on floured surface. Cut into strips, 6 x 3 inches long. Season sausage meat if using unseasoned meat, and roll into small ovals. Place each in one pastry strip. Roll up, seal with water. Place on greased cookie sheet, seam side up, one inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.

Serve warm with mustard.

Forfar Bridies

These are said to have been made by a traveling food seller, Maggie Bridie of Glamis (in the days when the county of Angus was called Forfarshire). They were mentioned by J M Barrie (author of Peter Pan) who was born in Kirriemuir in that county. The original recipe used suet but butter or margarine can be substituted.

Makes 6.

1 1/2 pounds (700g) boneless, lean rump steak or
    lean minced beef
2 ounces (2 rounded tablespoons) suet, butter or margarine
1 or 2 onions, chopped finely
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 cup rich beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds flaky pastry (homemade or from a pastry mix)

Remove any fat or gristle from the meat and beat with a meat bat or rolling pin. Cut into half-inch (1cm) pieces and place in a medium bowl. Add the salt/pepper, mustard, chopped onion, suet (or butter/margarine) and beef stock and mix well.

Prepare the pastry and divide the pastry and meat mixture into six equal portions. Roll each pastry portion into a circle about six inches in diameter and about quarter of an inch thick and place a portion of the mixture in the center. Leave an edge of pastry showing all round. Brush the outer edge of half the pastry circle with water and fold over. Crimp the edges together well. The crimped edges should be at the top of each bridie. Make a small slit in the top (to let out any steam). Brush a 12-inch square (or equivalent area) baking tray with oil and place the bridies in this, ensuring that they are not touching. Place in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F/220 degrees C for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C and bake for another 45/55 minutes. They should be golden brown. If they are getting too dark, cover with parchment or aluminum foil.

Londonderry Beef Stew

1 1/2 pounds beef steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 medium parsnips, chopped
1/2 cup pearl barley
8 medium potatoes
1 cup beef stock
1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, to taste

Boil some water in a large saucepan, sufficient to cover the meat, and have approximately 1 inch left above. Put in the large chunks of meat, and lower the heat to keep the stew simmering. Put in the chopped or diced carrots and parsnips. Add herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add peeled whole potatoes and some stock/soup mixture or cornstarch to thicken. Keep the mixture simmering and stir occasionally. After about an hour from start time, taste it and check the potatoes.

Roast Fresh Ham with Onion Stuffing (Wales)

1 (4 pound) boneless pork leg (fresh ham)
Salt
3 cups water
6 medium onions, chopped
2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon dried sage leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Spread pork flat; sprinkle lightly with salt. Heat water to boiling; add onions. Cook 5 minutes; drain.

Mix onions and remaining ingredients. Spread half of onion mixture on pork; roll up. Fasten with metal skewers. Place pork, fat side down, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Spoon any remaining stuffing over top of pork. Insert meat thermometer so tip is in center of thickest part of pork and does not rest in stuffing. Roast uncovered at 325 degrees F until thermometer registers 170 degrees F, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Yields 8 to 10 servings.

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