A Scots Larder

From snowdrops to wild garlic

Rose veal osso bucco with wild garlic pesto

Rose veal really is coming into the mainstream psyche now as a wonderful addition to the repertoire of meats available in British farmers markets and butchers. While this beautiful sweet meat is quite different from...

Earthy Monsoon Pakoras and Spicy Hot Chai by Sumayya Usmani

With a large population of Scots Pakistanis and indeed Scots descendent from all over the sub-continent, pakora is very much a staple in Scotland. I’m delighted to welcome Sumayya here to share her childhood experiences...

Asparagus and lemon risotto

To celebrate the Scottish asparagus season I’ve decided to share one of the recipes from my little ebook, Risotto – A blank canvas of flavour. There’s another five recipes to be found inside using delightful...

Wild Garlic Pesto

It seems that wild garlic is everywhere at the moment as for a few weeks each spring hordes of people armed with scissors and plastic bags stalk the riversides, woodlands and parks of Britain....

Friends of A Scots Larder

Food and drink is best when shared in good company. This ethos also goes for sharing food writing. This month we celebrate the cuisines of Scotland and Pakistan with Sumayya Usmani , Glasgow resident, and author of the recently published Summers Under the Tamarind Tree.

Pot roast hogget

As I sit on the plane back from Terra Madre I am feeling humbled, inspired, and reminded of the wonderful produce that Scotland has to offer and the duty to which I am bound to celebrate it. This dish is fairly typical of my favourite type of cooking; take…

Cranachan cheesecake

I rarely find myself writing on here these days, weeks seem to pass, recipes pile up and nothing appears. However having found a glut of wild raspberries by Loch Maree today I felt I had to mark the occasion by finally posting my recipe for cranachan cheesecake. This is a…

#WakeUpToOrganic with Scottish Berries and Spiced Yoghurt

On the morning of 15th June 2016 all over the UK, independent retailers will be hosting Wake Up To Organic events, dishing up mini breakfasts, blogger demos and visits from local producers and suppliers. I will be joining in with a delicious healthy breakfast of Scottish berries, pepped up with spice and…

Slow Food Glasgow launch with #GrowGlasgow

Slow Food – the international, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world – is launching its new Glasgow group with a campaign to encourage Glaswegians to grow their own food. The campaign, using the social media hashtag #GrowGlasgow, calls on people across the city and beyond to make…

Seasons, heritage & leftovers. In conversation with Sumayya Usmani

Pakistan and Scotland are two countries which most people wouldn’t instantly think of when asked for nation’s whose food cultures were analogous with each other. However when you dig beneath the surface you realise that there’s a lot more connecting the Clyde with the Indus, the Arabian Sea with the North Sea,…

Feed the family. Reduce the waste

Leftovers were a staple for me during my childhood in the west of Scotland. I probably didn’t even know the term existed; we just took it for granted that any food which was left would be reused. Mum would regularly make stovies from leftover meat and broth which seemed to…

Ground rice with stewed rhubarb

Of all the flavours of my west of Scotland childhood there is one that always springs to mind. Despite the proliferation of mince and tatties, steak pie and broths of various types, it is a dessert that speaks of my youthful sweet tooth. Ground rice pudding with stewed rhubarb. My…

Bavette with red wine and shallots

Bavette is one of those cuts that many people seem to find baffling when they see it on the butcher’s counter. A bit like onglet there’s an uncertainty of how to cook it, slow or fast? Babette is the perfect cheap cut for a summer barbecue, over really hot coals…