Category: Soups and Starters

Soups and Starters

Yellow Pea Soup Day!

Yellow pea soup has been a tradition since medieval times in Sweden, originally served as a nutritious Thursday supper prior to non-meat Fridays in line with their religious beliefs. The custom of Thursday pea soup is still popular in many households, at school lunches and in the army mess… always with pancakes, whipped cream and jam for afters that day!

Traditionally the soup is served with Skånsk mustard that is fairly strong and semi-smooth however we also enjoy it with Galloway Wholegrain Mustard when in Scotland. As pulses have a habit of making their presence known a few hours later, a wee dram of sweet liqueur is recommended to aid digestion and inhibit gas! This is presumably not served at school lunches and I couldn’t possibly comment on the army!

As it is based on cured pork and yellow peas it makes sense to cook a large batch when I have just boiled a Ramsay ham as I then have 2L of ham stock, a perfect base for the soup, with some ham trimmings added. If not, you can improvise by frying a few chopped rashers of bacon with the onions at the start also works, then add only water, never commercial stock, and season more generously. Some like it thick and solid whilst others prefer their soup a thinner consistency…the choice is yours to thin down with a little extra water if wished.

Sautéed Seafood with Peasemeal

Peasemeal is a versatile healthy flour used in cooking and baking since Roman times. Peasemeal production was a dying art until it was revived by Michael Shaw at Golspie Mill . It is on Slow Food’s Ark of Taste as a high quality heritage ingredient and increasingly used by chefs for its flavour and warm hue, making it both delicious and attractive.

This recipe is incredibly easy and very tasty. I can highly recommend peasemeal with seafood.

Cullen Skink

A traditional Scottish soup made from Finnan Haddie, bone-in cold smoked haddock.

Thrifty Tomato Soup

Here’s an opportunity to clear out that larder and experiment. The perfect time to use up that morsel left in a bottle or jar: sweet flavours become tart fillings, savouries for pizza toppings, with chutneys, vinegars and chillies ideal for spicy soups. This thrifty tomato soup is highly adaptable to what you have at hand.

Cold Smoked Trout with Clerkland Crowdie

A heritage dish loved here and now: classic cold smoked sea trout with crowdie, one of our oldest Scottish styles of cheese, served with a drizzle of home made dressing. Perfect for sharing with sourdough or bannocks.