24 ~ Wednesday, December 30, 1 THE FRUGAL GOURMET SCOTTISH IM- MIGRANTS came to America at the time of the 13 colonies and have been coming ever since. From 1921 to 1931 there was severe economic depression in Scotland and some 391,000 came from the Land of the Highlands to join us on this side of the Atlantic. Incidentally, Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, was a Scottish immigrant. Scottish cooking has been ma- ligned in. North America and it should not have been. Cock-a- leekie, Cullen Skink and other recipes I have included wil! make my point. | Finnan WHaddie_ will win you over for sure. So get out the tartans, bring on the pipers and Set us raise a glass to poet Robbie Burns! COCK-A-LEEKIE . (serves 5-6) The name of this. very tradi- tional Scottish soup refers to chicken and leeks. The soup is delicious and certainly stretches a chicken. : The blending of beef and chicken will surprise you. 13% pound frying chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces 1 pound beef shanks, sawed into 1l-inck cubes 6 cups fresh or canned chicken steck 3 slices thick-cut bacon, diced 1 tablespoon dried thyme, whole 1 bay leaf ¥% cup pearl barley 992 —- North Shore News THE COOKING of Scotland has bo=n much maligned on these shores and it sho Finnan Haddie and Scottish Shor.bread will win you over for sure. 1% cups rinsed and chopped leeks (white part only) Salt and freshly ground black Pepper to taste GARNISH 2 tablespoons chopped parsley Heat an &-quart stove-top cas- serole and bring all ingredients, except the bartzy, leeks, salt, pep- per and parsley, to ~ boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. In the meantime, boil the barley in 1% cups water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Remove the chicken from the pot, cool and debone. Set the chicken aside. Add the leeks to the pot along with the drained barley’ and «im- mer for 15 minutes, Remove the beef shank and debone. Chop the meat coarsely and add the beef and deboned chicken to the pot. Restore the heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the parsley and serve. CULLEN SKINK (serves 6) Another wonderful name. The term “‘skink’’ Scottish comes from the Gaelic and means “Sessence.’”’ I think it is also the background of our word “‘stink.’’ This soup, however, is a joy. 1 pound smoked haddock (find it frozen in your fish store) 1 quart cold waier 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced 3 cups milk 2% cups cooked mashed potatoes 1 tablespoon butter Salt and freshly grovnd black Pepper to taste Tiny pinch of ground mace Butter Chopped parsley Place the fish in a 4-quart shallow pan along with 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer, partly covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the fish, reserv- ing the broth, and allow it to cool. Debone and flake the fish. Return it to the pan. Add the onion, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. In a smalf saucepan heat the milk to a boil and add to the broth aad flaked fish. Simmer 4 NEWS photo Grad Lodwicge minutes, partly covered. Stir in the remaining ingre- dients, except the garnish, and bring to serving temperature. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with the butter and parsley and serve hot. FINNAN HADDIE (serves 3-4) Finne~; Haddie is the correct name for a wonderful smoked haddock, or cod, that comes from Scotland. It is basic to Scottish cuisine because it is a method of preserving food for the winter. The word “‘haddie’’ is the Scot- tish name for haddock, and ‘‘fin- nan’’ refers to Findon, the region this great method of smoking fish comes from. Real Finnan Haddie from Scotland can be purchased frozen from any good fish market. It is not expensive and is much more lightly smoked than regular smok- ed cod. 2 tablespoons butter . i medium yellow onion, peeled and thinly sticed 1 pound smoked haddock (Finnan Haddie), skinless, cut into small serving pieces Freshly ground black pepper tc uld not have been - taste 1 tablespoon cornstarch i cup half-and-half GARNISH Chopped parsley Heat a large covered frying pan and add the butter and onion. Saute for a few minutes and add the smoked fish, along with the pepper. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with % cup of the half-and-half. Blend with the remaining half-and-half and stir into the frying pan. Simmer gently while the sauce thickens, then cook the fish until very tender, about [0 more minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve. BARLEY AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE (serves 6-8) This is another dish that shows the ingenuity of the Scottish cook. Barley is not expensive and it swells to six times its size, not twice like rice. By itself it is tasty, but in this dist it becomes a joy. This makes a great replacement for potatoes. 6 iablespoons butter 2 cloves garlic, pecied and minced 2 yellow onions, peeled and minc- 1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced l cup peari barley ¥2 tablespoon dried basil 3 cups chicken stock, fresh or canned . Salt and freshly ground bisck pepper to tasic % cup chopped parsley Preheat the oven to 375° F. Melt the butter in a 2-quart stove-top covered casserole. Add the garlic and onion and saute over moderately low heat until the onion is ‘translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute over moderate heat until the mushrooms are golden, about 5 minutes. Add the barley and basil to the mushroom mixture and toss light- iy, then pour in the chicken stock and season to taste with salt and pepper. Slowly bring the casserole to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Cover the casserole and bake in the oven until the barley is tender, aboz:t 45 to 50 minutes. Before serving, add the chopped parsley and toss gently. Serve pip- ing hot. the chopped Involve guests in preparing delightful fondue dish inquisitive Cook SUE WILSON ANNE GARDINER POISED AT the end of a season of rich food and formal preparations, New Year’s Eve often calls for a special but simple dinner. A leisurely cheese fondue can be a delightful way to share the year's last hours with friends. Even the minimal preparation of a fondue dinner can become part of the fun, Involve guests in grating and stirring the cheese. They can tear romaine for a salad and cut long, crusty baguettes into little bites for dipping. Cheese fondue is traditionally made with well-aged, natural cheeses and for good reason. Firm, ripened cheese is less likely to break down at high temperatures than soft cheese. It also blends better with liquid since its protein is’ in smaller fragments that disperse easily. A friend from Switzerland, ad- mired for her consistently perfect fondues, uses equal amounts of Emmenthal and Gruyere, then adds a little Vacherin, a fila- vorsome, soft cheese, for extra pungency. Figure on roughly 200 grams (just under half a pound) of cheese per person. The wine doesn’t have to he expensive but slight acidity is im- portant since it encourages the cheese to melt and blend. The alcohol lowers the boiling point so the cheese is able to melt gently without becoming stringy. A dry, non-alcohol cider can be substituted for wine if you wish. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice per cup of cider to increase the acidity, and be sure to keep the heat low. Pots specially designed for cheese fondue instilate the cheese from direct exposure to heat. Some are cast-iron coated with enamel and can be placed directly on a stove element. Others are earthenware or ce- ramic and need low heat and the buffer of a trivet to avoid crack- ing. Rub the inside of the pot with a cut clove of garlic, and leave sev- eral exira slivers of garlic in the to mellow as the fondue cooks. Use % cup (125 mL) wine per person and heat until little bubbles appear. Add the grated or coarse- ly cut cheese by the handful. Then exercise a little patience and stir constantly to coax the cheese to blend with the wine. Every fondue maker’s nightmare is ending up with a tubbery wad of cheese and a soupy broth. And we've all done it at least once. Fondue separates if the cheese gets too hot. Its protein, called casein, coagulates at high temperatures into a toughened. mass squcezing out liquid and fat. Don’t allow it to boil. Adding a little cornstarch helps bind the mixture. Either toss one tablespoon (15 mL) with each pouid (454 g) of grated cheese or blend it with a little kirsch and add at the end. Sometimes a teaspoon (5 mL) of dry mustard is added for flavor but it also has an emulsifying ef- fect, which holds together phases that normally wouldn’t mix. Fondue becomes tough as it sits at serving temperatures. So don’t wait. Dip in with long forks or skewers and savor that first bite. It’s a gentle reminder of why this dish has been enjoyed for so long. . Happy New Year!