Steamed Marmalade Pudding

Stevie's Marmalade Pudding

ingredients;

2 x 2lb/ 1kg Pudding bowls.

6oz/180gm fine brown breadcrumbs

6oz/180gm soft brown sugar, light or dark

2oz/60gm self raising flour

7oz/200gm butter, plus more for buttering dishes

10 tablespoons home-made whisky marmalade or good strong marmalade with a very large measure of strong whisky added.

5 large eggs

1 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda and a little water to dissolve

Method;

1. Butter dishes well.

2. Mix breadcrumbs, flour and sugar together.

3. Melt butter and marmalade and butter over gentle heat. Add to dry and mix well.
4. Whisk eggs until frothy. Beat into other mix.

5. Dissolve bicarbonate in a little water and stir in to main mix.

6. Divide mix evenly between 2 dishes . Cover tightly and steam for 2-3 hours. This pudding can be made and frozen and microwaves well. The marmalade you use is very important so don't wimp out and buy a sweet marmalade or lime marmalade it just doesn't work!

Sweet potato and chilli soup.

This is one of my most simple soups, it almost makes its-self!

Ingredients;


3lb/1.5kg peeled sweet potatoes, chopped.
1 onion, chopped
vegetable stock
1 jar of Peppadew/ sweet, spicy South African Peppers, you can get them in most supermarkets, they are the ones that usually come stuffed with cheese.

Method;


Place all ingredients into pot cover with stock , boil for 30 minutes until tender, blend in processor, pass through sieve if you don't like "bits". Serve.
You can add cream for extra richness or to reduce spiciness.

Butternut squash, apple and saffron soup

Ingredients;


1 onion, chopped
1 tbsn vegetable oil
2 butternut squash, chopped
3 green apples, granny smith, bramley, etc.
1/2 gram saffron
vegetable stock
1/2 pint/250ml double cream
pinch hot chilli flakes
salt to taste

Method;

1. Fry onions in oil till soft. Add squash and fry for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add chopped, peeled apples and saffron. cover with stock then bring to boil and reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Purée mix with hand blender or processor.
4. Add cream and chilli and salt to taste. pass through sieve or re-blend after five minutes to get rid of chilli flakes. 

Fruit Curry

Malaysian style fruit curry

ingredients;

oil for frying

1 tsp ground cumin

3 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground fenugreek

hot chilli sauce to taste

2 mangoes, puréed

1 onion, finely chopped

double/heavy cream to taste, around 250ml/ ½ pint, you can use yoghurt.

250ml/ ½ pint passatta

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp crushed garlic

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

125ml/ ¼ pint coconut cream

a good mix of fresh fruit cut into large pieces. Use harder fruit such as pears, mango, pineapple, apples, etc. if you use bananas, kiwi, etc. you must add them after about 5 minutes cooking.

Method;

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.

2. Fry onions till brown and add garlic then curry powder.

3. Pour in mango and ketchup and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add coconut, passatta and cream. Adjust seasoning to taste, you can add more ketchup, cream or mango to adjust the flavour. Add you hot sauce at this stage, there should be a bite but not overpowering.
5. Blend mix in food processor until smooth. Pour over fruit and heat for 5 minutes, add any softer fruits and cook for a further 2-3 minutes taking care that they don't break up. Serve with home-made naan bread, pilaf rice and chutneys. This sauce goes well with fish.

Here we go....

Hi folks!

I'm sorry that it has taken so long to answer recipe calls this month. I have been planning winter menus and costing them to see if its viable to open the Glen Massan as a floating restaurant during the “off season”. So far its looking good.

The Majestic Line cookery book has now been launched and initial interest is good if a bit slow.

I have a few recipe requests and again they seem to be for my vegetarian dishes, is it because vegetarian dishes are harder to make? Or is it because new vegetarian ideas are harder to think up? Either way it looks as though I may have to write a vegetarian cookbook.

Here we go.....

A nice lunch or breakfast dish.

I always found the dish Kedgeree a messy one to present and also a little old fashioned. So I tried to get round the presentation problem and came up with this dish and found that although it combines two old fashioned ideas it has a modern feel to it. I hope that you like it and I'm confident that if you try it you will! Use quails eggs for canapé or snack size.

Ingredients;

4 eggs, softly boiled and shelled.

150gm/6oz pale smoked haddock, other smoked fish may be substituted.

150gm/6oz white fish,haddock,sole , whiting, etc.

250gm/2oz rice flour

1 egg, beaten with a little milk

100gm/4oz fresh breadcrumbs

salt

2 teaspoons medium heat curry powder

oil for frying

Method;

1. blend fish together into a paste using a food processor and divide mix into four equal pieces.
2. Using wet hands pat fish out into rounds. Place boiled egg into centre and work until completely covered and no egg shows through.
3. Dust eggs with rice flour, then dip into egg and milk mix.
4. Mix curry, breadcrumbs, remaining rice flour and salt together, well. Shake off excess egg and roll into crumbs. Repeat the egg and crumb twice.
5. Heat oil in deep pan or use deep fat fryer. 180-190 deg. c.
6. Place eggs in carefully and cook until golden place on kitchen paper to drain. Serve while hot on bed of lettuce and surround with a little cordon of curry sauce for fish or fruit. Enjoy hot or cold.

A special request for my cousin Wendy...

Here is an old family recipe for Fried cheese known as Cheese Dippy.

Ingredients;

1kg/2lb cheddar cheese (diced)
100gm/4 oz butter or margarine
6-8 rashers smoked bacon (optional)
6-8 soft morning rolls/baps/bagels, etc..
1 cup of water

method;

1. fry bacon in pan/skillet, if using. Remove from pan and keep warm.
2. place cheese, butter and water in pan and return to high heat, stirring continually until mixture comes together to resemble a thick cream with some liquid.
3. turn heat to low and keep on simmer.
4. split baps and spoon over cheese mix and add bacon. Eat while warm. 
5. keep pan on heat until all mix is used or mix will solidify.

Cooking aboard

This really is an ideal job. You have nice guests, lovely scenery, the best ingredients and complete autonomy over menu content, I wish it would last forever but unfortunately it doesn't, so if anyone out there needs a chef for the winter months then please contact me...

A simple version of Teryaki for fish, you can also use chicken.

Salmon in an oriental marinade

4 x 6-8 oz Salmon fillets ( scales off and bones out) ask your fishmonger to do this.

Dark soy sauce

toasted sesame oil

1-2 inch knob of ginger

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

teaspoon honey

vegetable oil

1 chopped red chilli ( optional)

method

1. place all ingredients into bowl and whisk together.

2.Place salmon in mix and place into fridge for at least 3 hours and preferably over night.

3. place salmon under hot grill until skin is quite dark and crisp.
4. Rest for two minutes then brush with oil to add a glaze.
5. Serve on a bed of stir-fried vegetables and serve with your choice of sweet chilli sauce or my favourite, oyster sauce. You can buy oyster sauce at any supermarket, it is a sauce made from fermented black beans and oysters, its quite salty butt compliments the natural sweetness of the salmon and stir-fried vegetables. You can also serve with noodles or fried rice.

This is the best haggis recipe...or so I am told!

This is a simpler version of the traditional haggis. I have taken out the heart and lungs and you don't need to stuff it into a stomach bag, all of these elements were used simply for texture and frugality, they also made a lot of people afraid to try our national dish, especially the sassenachs. I am sure if you try it you will love it. This recipe feeds 16 as a starter or 8 as a main course.

Pan haggis

ingredients;

500g/1lb minced lambs liver (ask your butcher to do this)

1 kg/ 2lb minced lamb shoulder

500g/1lb finely diced onion

250g/8oz butter

3-4 tablespoons cracked black pepper

salt

1.5 ltr/3 pints strong lamb stock (made with cubes is okay)

500g/1lb pinhead oatmeal

1 teaspoon ground allspice (optional)

method;

1. fry onions in butter until soft
2. add lamb and liver and brown thoroughly
3. pour in oatmeal and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently to prevent sticking
4. pour in hot stock. The mix will look runny but don't worry.
5. Add pepper a little at a time until the mix has the correct amount of spiciness to your taste, remember that the spice will get stronger during cooking.
6. Pour into deep oven tray and cover tightly with tinfoil. Bake at gas mark 6 / 230c until stock is absorbed and mix is quite sticky. About 2 hours. Taste and at salt to taste. If mix is to dry then add a little water and place back into oven to soften oats. If mix is too wet then place back in oven covered with greaseproof paper until moisture has evaporated.
7. Serve with creamy mash and turnip purée. Add a drop of whisky to serve.

If you like a stronger haggis simply substitute venison for lamb and veal or venison stock.