Foodie Lass Gloagburn – Recipes from a Scottish Farm
The perfect book for this time of year, full of robust recipes that are well-presented by the author Alison Niven.
The book takes the reader on a journey by the Niven family from the rollercoaster ups-and-downs of running a working farm before making the transition to starting up a farm shop and the introduction of a café.
The book has an authentic homely touch with Alison’s traditional recipes passed down through the family, such as Potato Scones (a great recipe to follow), Kaleslaw (a new approach to incorporate the wonderfully-healthy kale into your diet), Beef and Stout stew (essential robust food for this time of year) and for anyone who has a desire for sweet treats there are wonderful recipes in the tea-time-treats chapter.
Soup is an absolute‘must’ at this time of year and Gloagburn farm café has delicious home-made soup as a staple on its menu, a great way of using seasonal vegetables, quick and easy to make – and very nutritious. Alison gives her secret tips for her base for soup recipes: home-made chicken stock (so easy when you know how), cooking liquid from a smoked ham shank or vegetable stock.
Here is wonderful soup recipe for you to try from the cookbook:
Mushroom and Fresh Tarragon Soup
So simple to make and very easy to vary according to whatever herbs you have to hand, this is a great soup. We quite often make this without sweating the vegetables: just add the onion, potato and mushrooms to a litre of stock and simmer until they are all tender.
SERVES 4-6
30g butter
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, diced
650g mushrooms, sliced
1 litre chicken stock (either made with 2 chicken stock cubes or fresh)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
2–4 tbsp single cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Melt the butter in a large soup pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and potato and sweat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the potato is starting to soften.
2. Add the mushrooms and the stock and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Take the pan off the heat and add the fresh tarragon. Blitz til smooth with a stick blender, then add the cream to taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
VARIATIONS:
Truffled Mushroom Soup
Leave out the tarragon and drizzle over some truffle oil just before serving.
Mushroom and Chive Soup
Substitute the tarragon with the same quantity of finely chopped chives.
Enjoy the above soup with some toasted sourdough on a windy wet day with Gloagburn -Recipes from a Scottish Farm as part of your reading list. Or better still, make a trip to the Farm Shop and café and enjoy the delicious food on offer, before buying the book so you can enjoy the recipes at home!
From Gloagburn – Recipes from a Scottish Farm by Alison Niven
Kitchen Press Ltd www.kitchenpress.co.uk Visit www.gloagburn.co.uk for more information.
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