Food & drink
Forage for some treats and reconnect with the way our forebears used to live and eat
Recipes from Neil Forbes, plus Rose Murray Brown
It’s almost 10 years since I was honoured to write a few words for the back of the wonderful book A Handbook of Scotland’s Wild Harvests along with the late Andrew Fairlie. This essential guide to edible species is never far from me. Penned by the wonderful Fi Martynoga who spent a considerable time living an 18th- century life in a rustic cottage. With no mod cons, she cooked on a wood fire and only ate what would have been available in those days.
I adore a wander in the woods on my day off. On a sunny autumn day, a walk in a forest listening to the trees sway and smelling of pine needles underfoot is a form of medicine to me. The constant demands of my mobile and exhortations to buy unnecessary things just seem to fall away. On this week’s wander, I stayed very close to Edinburgh and it made my day when I found some wonderful ‘ Penny Bun’ or cep mushrooms. Ben, my forager, brings a host of foraged and gathered ingredients to the restaurant that we would normally walk past. But once you know how to identify a plant or mushroom, you can live off the land like our ancestors did out of necessity.
This time of year is perfect for wild harvesting. Just remember to leave some for others, and for the wildlife. Get out there and explore. And enjoy every mouthful of that apple and bramble pie you may make.
Ceps on toast
It doesn’t get much more simple and autumnal than this great way of enriching mushrooms. Button mushrooms are wonderful too, or try the chestnut variety. Serves one
1 slice of good sourdough
100g ceps, lightly washed and sliced 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped a few fronds of tarragon, chopped 1 tablespoon of curly parsley, finely chopped
1.5 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of cold- pressed rapeseed oil
25ml double cream a knob of butter or bacon fat to fry the sourdough, optional a few watercress leaves a splash of Madeira, optional good salt and peppe ❒
1 Heat the oil and a tablespoon of butter in a medium- sized frying pan and fry the chopped shallot. It will take a minute or two to soften – don’t colour the shallot.
2 Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
3 Add the mushrooms to the pan along with the remaining butter. Cook for a couple of minutes – toss the contents in the pan if you can.
4 Add the cream, herbs and seasoning. Taste and add a splash of madeira if you fancy. Continue to cook until the mushrooms are done and check the seasoning.
5 Serve on a slice of sourdough, toasted on a chargrill or pan- fried in butter or bacon fat. Dress with a few
watercress leaves and serve.
Beef cheeks with tongue, bacon and chanterelles
Tongue and cheek are wonderful together. The almost mousse- like texture of the beef cheeks is delicious. It’s not an expensive cut either, although you’ll need to go to the butcher or market to get them. I'd serve with greens and a very buttery mash. Serves three to four.
1 large beef/ ox cheek
200g piece ox tongue, brined then braised in beef stock, chilled and diced into 1cm cubes
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced ½ onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1 stick celery, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf a few sprigs of thyme
1 large glass of good red wine
1 clove garlic
1 star anise handful cleaned chanterelles 100g small bacon lardons 750ml good beef stock
12 small button onions or small shallots, cooked in stock for 20 minutes
1 teaspoon roughly- chopped curly parsley 2 tablespoons cold- pressed rapeseed oil knob of butter good salt and peppe
1 Place the beef cheek in a plastic tub and add the wine, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, garlic, star anise and thyme. Give it a good mix, cover and marinade overnight in the fridge.
The next day, remove the cheek from the marinade and pat dry on kitchen paper. Reserve the wine and veg.
2 Pre- heat oven to 150C. Heat half the oil in a thick- bottomed pan. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then sear until well browned all over on a high heat for 5 to 6 minutes.
3 Remove the beef from the pan and add the marinated veg to the pan to fry until golden brown – about another 5 minutes. A good golden colour is important here. Then add the wine and bring to the boil. Reduce for 5 minutes then add the beef stock and bring to the boil again. Simmer for 5 minutes before returning the beef cheek to the pan.
4 Cover with a lid and braise in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. When the beef is ready it will be quite fragile and soft so leave it in the pan out of the oven for an hour. Carefully remove the beef from the pan and roll it in cling film to keep it moist. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
5 Meanwhile, pass the stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables. Reduce for 5 to 10 minutes until it’s nice and sticky.
6 Remove the beef cheek from the cling film and cut into 3 or 4 pieces and place into the pan with the reduced stock and gently reheat. Leave it to warm up for 20 to 25 minutes, gently turning each piece now and again.
7 Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan on a high heat and add the
bacon lardons and tongue. Fry for
3 to 5 minutes stirring and tossing as you go. Add some thyme and the onions and season. Then add the chanterelles and the parsley, followed by a knob of butter and toss again.
8 Arrange the buttered greens in the centre of the plate and top with the beef cheek. Garnish with the mushrooms, bacon, tongue and onions. Serve with a big bowl of buttery mash.
Plum and frangipane tart, crème Chantilly
This very popular tart has been on the menu at Cafe St Honore for a while. Stone fruits are great for making frangipane tarts – a wonderfully moist way of eating them. Ground almonds are the secret to keeping the tart moist and flavoursome. I get my plums from Patricia at Phantassie Organics in East Lothian and they’ve been great this year. Serves ten
10- inch sweet pastry tart case, chilled and rested around 12- 15 good plums
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon caster sugar
125g caster sugar
125g unsalted butter, softened 125g ground almonds
50g plain flour, sifted
3 whole eggs beaten a handful of flaked almonds 200ml double cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted
1/ 3 vanilla pod, seeds scraped Extra icing sugar for dusting
1 Pre- heat oven to 200C/ Gas Mark 6.
2 Halve and stone the plums then dust with mixed spice and sugar. Cook on a tray in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. When the plums are cold, set to one side. Leave a few aside for serving.
2 Reduce oven to 150/ 160C/ Gas Mark 3. Make the frangipane by creaming the butter and caster sugar until it’s nice and smooth. Then add the ground almonds and beaten eggs, mixing carefully. Then add the flour and combine.
3 Spread one third in the prepared tart case and smooth over with a wet palette knife. Add half the plums reserved for the tart and spread them out. Top with another third of frangipane and smooth down. Then add the rest of the plums reserved for the tart and finish with the remaining frangipane. Smooth over well with a wet palette knife and top with the flaked almonds.
4 Place on a metal tray and bake for 1 to 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. It will be easier to remove from the tart case when it’s warm. It’s tricky to cut when it’s hot.
5 To make the crème Chantilly, whip the double cream to almost firm peak stage then add the sifted icing sugar to taste – roughly 1 tablespoon. Add the vanilla seeds and stir.
6 To serve, cut slices from the tart and plate with a dollop of cream and any extra plums. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy.