The 44 Scotland Street Cookbook E-Book

Anna Marshall

• Herausgeber: Polygon
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 108

Beschreibung

With a foreword by Alexander McCall Smith 'That which is uncooked is destined to be cooked, if has been prepared with cooking in mind' – The Enigma of Garlic Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street novels are loved and enjoyed by readers throughout the world. In each book there are countless scenes involving conversations around the table, in the kitchen, or in a cafe – friendship and food go well together.  With this delightful cookbook readers can immerse themselves in the world of Edinburgh's New Town and recreate some of their favourite characters' signature dishes: enjoy Bertie's much-loved Panforte di Sienna, Angus Lordie's famous cheese scones or host your own Scotland Street supper.

Leseprobe

The

44 SCOTLANDSTREET

Cookbook

TITLES IN THE4 SCOTLAND STREET SERIES

44 Scotland Street

Espresso Tales

Love Over Scotland

The World According to Bertie

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones

The Importance of Being Seven

Bertie Plays the Blues

Sunshine on Scotland Street

Bertie’s Guide to Life and Mothers

The Revolving Door of Life

The Bertie Project

A Time of Love and Tartan

The Peppermint Tea Chronicles

A Promise of Ankles

Love in the Time of Bertie

The Enigma of Garlic

The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee

First published in hardback in Great Britain in 2023by Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn Ltd.

Birlinn Ltd

West Newington House

10 Newington Road

Edinburgh

EH9 1QS

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

Copyright © Anna Marshall and Alexander McCall Smith, 2023Foreword © Alexander McCall Smith, 2023Illustrations © Iain McIntosh

The right of Anna Marshall to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978 1 84697 655 1eBook ISBN 978 1 78885 639 3

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library.

Designed and typeset by The Foundry, EdinburghPrinted and Bound in Great Britain by CPI Group Ltd, Croydon

CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

Acknowledgements

BERTIE POLLOCK

Bertie’s Favourite Panforte di Siena

Bertie’s Carrot-Men

Bertie’s Pentland Adventure Bolognese

Bertie’s Porridge Islands

Baked Trout with Almonds

Happiness Pizza

BIG LOU

Big Lou’s ‘Off the Record’ Buttery Bacon Rolls

Big Lou’s Shortbread

Big Lou’s Sturdy Scones

Big Lou’s Dundee (or should that be Arbroath?) Cake

Big Lou & Fat Bob’s Big Date Kadai Paneer with Onion Bhajis

ANGUS & DOMENICA

Domenica’s Mushroom Risotto

Angus Lordie’s Cheese Scones

Angus & Bertie’s Cheese Straws

Cooking for Men: Bachelor Delicacies by Angus Lordie

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Haggis, Neeps & Tatties

Kedgeree

BRUCE ANDERSON

Bruce’s Prescription-Only Lobster Bisque

Bruce’s Chanterelles in a Butter Sauce

Bruce’s Antioxidant Muesli

MATTHEW & ELSPETH

Matthew & Elspeth’s Wedding Breakfast

Parcel of Oak-Smoked Salmon with Crab

Gazpacho

Le Trou Normand

Loin of Perthshire Lamb with Mushroom Mousse, Wrapped in Puff Pastry

Strawberries, Meringues Glacés & Clotted Cream

Matthew and Elspeth’s Anniversary Dinner

Roger’s Cream of Porcini Soup

Rack of Lamb with Mashed Carrots

Apple Pie

Danish Pastries in the Pleasure Gardens

Homemade Danish Pastries with Apple & Raisins

Mussel & Monkfish Anchor Pies

Elspeth’s Boeuf Bourguignon

Matthew’s Convalescent Consommé

JAMES

Exotic Baconian Constructions

Cinnamon-Spiced Bacon Monkey Bread

Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potato with Avocado Wedges

West Linton Pheasant Casserole

Scallops with Home-Cured (Nitrate-Free) Bacon

Tuscan Bean Stew

Scallops & Saddle of Baddinsgill Lamb

PAT MACGREGOR

Pat’s Entrapment Dinner Party

Borsch

Salmon steaks with Broccoli, Puy Lentils, & Potatoes

Homemade Lemon Sorbet

Dr MacGregor’s Puglian Loaf of Forgiveness

NICOLA & STUART POLLOCK

Pure Dead Brilliant Scotch Pies (Nae Messing), formerly known as Inclusive Pies

Nicola’s Egg & Potato Pie

Stuart’s ‘More to Life Than Vanilla’ Parmesan Ice Cream

THE SUPPORTING CAST

Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna’s Focaccia

Antonia’s Black Market Dundee Marmalade

Lard O’Connor’s Deep-Fried Mars Bar

The Duke of Johannesburg’s Un-curdled Hollandaise Sauce (with Salmon Roulade)

The Association of Scottish Nudists’ Constitutional Quiche

Ranald Braveheart McPherson’s Bestselling Tablet

Conservative Cock-a-Leekie Soup

THE LAST SUPPERS

44 Scotland Street

Devils on Horseback

Oatcakes with Smoked Salmon

Crackers with Boiled Egg, Caviar-Ersatz and Mayonnaise

Unbearable Lightness of Scones

Tagliatelle with White Truffle Sauce

The World According to Bertie

Salmon Timbale

Venison Cassoulet

Bertie’s Guide to Life and Mothers

Haggis Parcels

Green & Orange Marble Cake

The Peppermint Tea Chronicles

Figs Soaked in Syrup

Hard-Boiled Quail’s Eggs

Small Biscotti

The Revolving Door of Life

Tagliatelle with Parmesan, Salami, Onions & Chopped Black Olives

The Enigma of Garlic

Distressed Oatmeal Oatcakes

FOREWORD

When I wrote the opening chapter of the first 44 Scotland Street novel, I had no idea how the book was going to develop or how long it would turn out to be. I had responded to an invitation from the then editor of The Scotsman, Iain Martin, to write a serial novel for daily publication in his newspaper. The idea had appealed – the serial publication of fiction had a long and interesting pedigree, as it was the way in which many nineteenth-century novels were introduced to their public. I decided to set the story in Scotland Street, a real street in the Georgian New Town of Edinburgh. But that was the extent of the advance planning; the rest of the project was, at that stage, rather vague.

I certainly had not imagined that I would end up writing one of these books every year, and that the characters who populated the series would become almost as familiar to me as my friends and neighbours are in real life. I did not think that the world of Scotland Street would spawn something of a community in which we, writer and readers, all became members. And, in particular, I would never have guessed that years later my friend and colleague, Anna Marshall, would sit down and write a highly entertaining cookbook featuring the dishes mentioned in the sixteen novels that now make up the Scotland Street series. One can, it seems, be so wrong about so many things.

In the Scotland Street series there are numerous scenes in involving conversations around the table, in the kitchen, or in a café. These episodes are important, because one of the underlying themes of the books is the friendship that exists between the people whose lives are depicted here. Friendship and food go well together: sharing a meal binds us to one another as we experience the pleasures of the table. For a novelist, though, linking food to character helps to make the people in the story seem more real. In selecting recipes connected with the individual characters in the Scotland Street series, Anna has succeeded in reminding us what each of these are like. And if the reader has a favourite, then being able to cook a dish associated with that person serves: to strengthen a friendship.

Once Anna started to go through the books with a culinary eye, she surprised me by showing just how many references to food and cooking there are in these novels. And when she created recipes for the dishes mentioned in the pages of Scotland Street, I was further surprised to find out just how tasty are some of the dishes we encounter. The first of her creations I sampled was her Panforte di Siena, a treat much appreciated by young Bertie. He bought his panforte in Valvona & Crolla, the delicatessen I often use as a setting for a Scotland Street scene. If you live in Edinburgh or happen to visit the city, you can find this panforte in the real Valvona & Crolla where Bertie searched for it on shelves packed with Italian temptations. But even if you cannot do that, you will find that the recipe in this book will produce something every bit as delicious. And we have tried not only Bertie’s panforte, but several other offerings. Yet to be sampled is Bruce’s Prescription-Only Lobster Bisque, a dish I had rather forgotten about until I read the proofs of this current volume. I like the sound of it, which is why, I suppose, I invented it, although the actual recipe is not my doing at all.

I hope that this work will strengthen the friendship that readers of the Scotland Street series have with the inhabitants of that address. I am most grateful to Anna for writing this cookbook. She has helped to make the world of Bertie, Big Lou, Domenica and all the others come to life. They are inviting you in. The table is laid. Please join them.

Alexander McCall Smith

INTRODUCTION

Food has the ability to transport us through time: a cheese toastie may remind us of tea at granny’s; a sip of continental beer takes us back to that summer holiday in France; a certain soup may help comfort us when we are unwell, because that is what our parents made us as children. Much of the food in Alexander McCall Smith’s novels has this nostalgic appeal, and readers enjoy reminiscing about food from their time in Scotland and Botswana.

Over the many months of researching and writing this book, I spent a lot of time thinking about why readers have so much affection for the food mentioned. We all love food of course, but my interactions with readers had shown me that many had a real emotional connection to the culinary elements of the novels.

But I think that there is more to it than that. The settings or locations in Alexander’s novels are often cited as being of such importance to the appeal of the books that they are almost worthy of being characters in their own right. In much the same way, food and drink are so intrinsically linked to the storylines, and our understanding of the characters, that it feels like the sourcing, preparation and consumption of food are part of the fundamental framework of the 44Scotland Street series. It just wouldn’t be Scotland Street if the characters didn’t cook mushroom risotto together, drink Brunello di Montalcino or buy Panforte di Siena from Valvona & Crolla. It is through food that we learn of Big Lou’s aunt in Carnoustie, of Angus Lordie’s days as a bachelor and student; and it is often through food that Bertie expresses his desire for freedom. They say that the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, and it seems that in the Scotland Street novels this holds true – it is through the stomach that we come to understand the heart of each of the characters.

I have had the pleasure of working in the small UK team that supports Alexander McCall Smith for over ten years. His writing brings so much pleasure, comfort and joy to people all over the world that being even a tiny part of the team which helps to nurture his literary legacy is immensely rewarding. An aspect of my job is to help generate content for Alexander’s social media channels. It was while I was developing discussion points for his Facebook book group that I realised that posts relating to the food mentioned in his novels were some of the most popular. The germ of an idea for a cookbook was born.

When I went to Alexander with the suggestion of a 44 Scotland Street cookbook, he responded with his characteristic enthusiasm and generosity. His Edinburgh publisher, Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn Limited, was similarly keen. I immediately started the huge task of cataloguing all references to food in the (then) sixteen 44 Scotland Street novels. With two kids under five, and being pregnant with baby number three, I needed to find a way to fit this research around family life and my energy levels. I read some of the books from cover to cover, but most of my research involved listening to audiobook versions of the novels – over 100 hours’ worth – while cooking, cleaning, driving and walking the dog. It came as a bit of a surprise, but it turns out that writing a cookbook is an ideal maternity-leave project. After the arrival of baby Katie, I was able to dip in and out of writing when it suited me, and I could test recipes by incorporating them into my usual cooking at home. Some of the recipes have become so popular here that they have joined the ranks of other family favourites in our meal repertoire, and my kitchen cupboard will forever more contain at least one packet of dried porcini mushrooms.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are many people who have contributed to this book and who deserve to be recognised here. Firstly, a huge debt of gratitude to Alexander, without whom there couldn’t possibly be a 44 Scotland Street cookbook. Thanks also to his wife Elizabeth, who has a reputation as an excellent cook and who will doubtless have inspired much of the food in the novels. Jan Rutherford and Lesley Winton, the other members of the small UK team that assist Alexander, have both been immensely supportive and encouraging of this project. The publishing team at Polygon have all been very kind and it has been a pleasure to work with them all again. My husband, Nick, and my children, Emily and Matthew, have also been extremely helpful as my taste-testers, and Granma Brenz and Grandad Pete have provided invaluable childcare support.

Last but not least, I need to thank my wee co-author, baby Katie, who has been with me every step of the way, napping in the baby sling, feeding while I type, and generally being a delightful distraction.