Like most of you, we don't get to go to Scotland as often as we'd like. (Every weekend would be nice!) The allure of all things Scottish is strong, though. In addition to selling Scottish products and interacting with ex-pat Scots here in the US, we maintain a strong connection to the country by watching Scotland-related movies and TV shows, reading Scottish literature, listening to Scottish music, following social media accounts that showcase many aspects of Scottish life, the landscape, current events and people. Spending weekends at NEEDS LINK Highland Games and Scottish Festivals up and down the East Coast keeps us plugged in to Scotland by way of the thriving community of Americans with ancestral ties to Scotland and people with a general fondness for Scottish culture.
But few things energize those built-in memories of a place like the taste and smell of food does. A bite of haggis, a breakfast with bangers and black pudding, a bowl of cullen skink, a piece of shortbread or a nibble of a Tunnock's tea cake can activate something in our brains, blasting us back mentally to a place where we last tasted a particular thing, across oceans and decades. We're lucky - our shelves are loaded with Scottish treats. Even so, we like to try out new ideas or new approaches to old classics. We have a well-stocked cookbook library, sure, but we also love poking around on different recipe sites and cooking blogs to see what people are fixing up in their Scottish kitchens.
New cooking blogs pop all the time (and, sadly, old ones go dormant just as often), and we keep our eyes open for emerging food trends and exciting new accounts.
As many of you probably know, celebrity chef and culinary superstar Gordon Ramsay was born in Scotland. Ramsay's websites generally promote his shows, his international restaurants and his books, but he also features many of his recipes. Ramsay will walk you through the steps of making Sticky Toffee Pudding, or Bangers and Mash, for instance. More complicated continental fare is featured as well.
She might not be a household name like Ramsay, but Jacqueline Meldrum of the Tinned Tomatoes site has connected with vegetarians and vegans from all over. She operates out of Scotland, and her style probably reflects that, but mostly she specializes in uncomplicated family-tested foods. Meldrum does have a whole tab on her site devoted to specifically Scottish recipes as well. You can find her take on vegetarian haggis, Scotch broth, cranachan, sausage rolls, tattie scones, and more.
If you're looking for something a little more multi-cultural, Scottish Mum is a recipe-and-cooking site that delves into Southeast Asian, and other cuisine traditions, while still signaling back to Scotland.
Beloved chef and food-activist Jamie Oliver doesn't necessarily get over-focused on Scottish recipes on his site, but you can find recipes for Scottish shortbread and an inspiring scallops and black pudding dish. Oliver also has a tantalizing recipe for poached eggs and crumbled black pudding served over toast brushed with Marmite. That sounds pretty tasty!
And if you're looking for a bold re-imagining of classic flavors, check out Oliver's Bloody Mary Crumpets. This takes the well-loved Sunday-afternoon tomato-juice-and-vodka cocktail as inspiration. The mix of textures and flavors - with the bready base of crumpets and the tang of the seafood - suggests something like the high-contrast zing of the American classic pairing of fried chicken and waffles. Oliver dunks the crumpets in an egg-ketchup-worcestershire mix. Oh, if you're feeling adventuresome, we have the crumpets and the smoked salmon to get you well on your way to having what you need to make this dish.
Flora Shedden is a food writer, a cookbook author, a blogger and a bakery owner, among other things. A chunk of her success is owed to her appearance on the Great British Bake Off. From there lots of other things flowed. Her book, Aran, features many of Shedden's favorite recipes from bakery. But you can also read her blog and test out some of her more recent creations on her blog and web site. If eye-catching photos of delectable food is REALLY what you're after, her site is just the thing.