Ingredient: Summer Harvest Rapeseed Oil

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.

Brochettes of Highland Beef with Caramelized Onions & Benromach

Pasture-fed ruminants, whether grazing grass or hefted on moors, bring many benefits and the marbling present is a healthy nourishing fat giving marvellous flavours to the meat. Such animals could not be more different from grain fed beasts on densely populated feedlots. Industrialised farming methods are linked with lower welfare standards, felling of rain forests for grain production and GM soy feed. Scottish pasture-fed cattle could not be more different.

French Toast

Such a tasty breakfast treat – can be veggy with a buttered mushroom or grilled tomato topping rather than bacon.

Ost Bröd

A delicious Swedish bread using Slow Food Ark of Taste ingredients