A special Mother’s
Show the special woman in your life how much you care with a tasty spread made from the finest Lanarkshire ingredients
16.03.2023
She might be your great grandma, your glamorous gran, a mum in a million, or someone who’s like a mother to you.
Whoever the special lady is in your life, what better way to show you care than by serving up a show-stopping, homemade lunch this Mother’s Day – all prepared with love from Lanarkshire?
Your favourite local paper has teamed up with regional food group, Lanarkshire Larder – which champions local, sustainable quality food and drink from the fertile region – to create a Mothering Sunday menu that showcases the kind of exceptional produce that is putting the area firmly on the country’s culinary map.
Proud members of Lanarkshire Larder have offered up their own suggestions for a Mother’s Day lunch whose dishes bear the Lanarkshire quality hallmark – with mouth-watering results.
First off, beekeeper Chris Knight has turned mixologist to create a refreshing cocktail that’s guaranteed to get your Mother’s Day lunch off to a corker of a start.
By pairing the sticky, sweet Glen Heather Summer Blossom Honey produced by his bees with Mclean’s Strathaven Hedgerow Gin – distilled by a fellow Lanarkshire Larder member – Chris created the ultimate Mother’s Day apéritif.
ROASTED PEACH GIN FIZZ
INGREDIENTS:
3 peaches halved and de-stoned 40g of Glen Heather Summer Blossom Honey
25g of lime juice
4 shots of Mclean’s Strathaven Hedgerow Gin
Soda water
Method:
Preheat oven to 180c
Roast peaches for 15mins
Place cooled peaches into a blender, until smooth
Mix peach puree, gin, honey, lime juice and a little ice in a cocktail shaker
Add mixture to a glass and top up with soda (roughly 1 third puree to 2 soda)
Getting the show under starter’s orders is Carmichael Estates, believed to be the only company in the UK that produces venison rashers.
They recommend flash-frying the rashers in olive oil and then serving on a bed of rocket leaves with Parmesan shavings and balsamic vinegar. It’s a starter that’s sure to whet your mum’s appetite for the main event.
Next to step up to the plate is famous Lanarkshire son and celebrity chef, Jimmy Lee.
Jimmy is the chef proprietor of Lychee Oriental in Glasgow and Salt & Chilli Oriental in Hamilton and Edinburgh.
Proud of his Lanarkshire upbringing, his childhood was spent running around the kitchen at his parents’ restaurant, Kam Wah in Hamilton in the 1980s.
For his aromatic Mother’s Day dish, Jimmy uses the finest cuts from Wishaw-based family wholesale business, Macduff Beef.
Visit www.lanarkshirelarder. com for his delicious Macduff Beef Fillet, Chilli, Garlic and Asparagus recipe.
For mums with a sweet tooth, everything’s coming up roses this Mother’s Day.
They’ll be buzzing for a dessert that’s again been created by Glen Heather Honey proprietor, Chris Knight.
He has swapped his beekeeper’s veiled helmet for pâtissier’s whites to create a masterpiece that could make him a contender for the Star Baker title in the Great British Bake Off.
PEACH HONEY ROSES INGREDIENTS:
Puff pastry pre-rolled sheets Strawberry jam
4 peaches (thinly sliced into half moon shapes)
Glen Heather’s Ling Heather Honey
Glen Heather’s Summer Blossom
Honey
Icing sugar
Method:
Preheat oven to 170c
Mix the jam and heather honey, in ratios of one teaspoon of jam to 2 of honey, in a small bowl. Unroll the pastry sheet
Cut pastry into 4cm wide strips Spread a little jam/honey mix along the length of the pastry, in the middle, leaving a gap either side
Place a layer of slightly overlapping peaches along the pastry strip, so that the curved part of the peach slightly overhangs the pastry edge Place another layer of peaches on top, staggered to create a rainbow shape
Fold half a cm of pastry over at the bottom to hold in the peaches
Roll the strip and place into a cupcake holder
Cook for 25 mins or until golden brown
Dust with icing sugar and drizzle with runny blossom honey.
If you want to treat your mum to an alternative dessert that has just as much of a wow factor, why not shake things up with a recipe from Equi’s ice cream that’s class in a glass?
The family firm’s marketing executive, Alex Equi, says Mother’s Day is the perfect occasion to try your hand at making a milk shake – with a kick.
TEQUILA ROSE BOOZY STRAWBERRY SHAKE
Alex suggests:“grab two of our 120ml Strawberry Ripple tubs and scoop them into a blender (you can use our classic Double Cream Vanilla instead, if you
fancy it). “Blend with 100ml to 150ml of whole milk, depending on how thick you want your shake. Add a dash – or two, or three – of Tequila Rose and blend again. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!”
Get out your phone and line everyone up for a Mother’s Day photograph – because it’s time to say “cheese”.
Errington Cheese, near Carnwath in South Lanarkshire, is favoured by some of Europe’s most distinguished chefs, who are proud to present it as an offering on their menus.
Its proprietor, Selina Cairns, also happens to be chairperson of Lanarkshire Larder – and she enthusiastically recommends pairing Elrick log and new season Lanark Blue with Millers Larder piccalilli and moreish oatcakes from The Orchard.
The Orchard’s Biggar Flavour packed biscuit range now boasts 11 Great Taste Awards, with oatcake varieties including Completely Cheesy, Cracked Black Pepper, Seriously Seedy and Brown Sugar Oatmeal.
Ranald and Jane Brown’s Completely Cheesy oatcakes were crowned ‘the best savoury
biscuit’ in the Great British Food Awards 2021 by none other than Michel Roux Jr, having been sent to his restaurant, Le Gavroche, for judging.
The Orchard’s shortbread recipes have warranted a clutch of awards of their own – and they are the ideal accompaniment for the happy ending to your Mother’s Day meal.
Inspiration for the grand finale comes from The Biggar
Gin Company – soon to become The Biggar Spirits Co – which has extended its repertoire to encompass its Lanarkshire rum.
THE BIGGAR RUM COFFEE INGREDIENTS:
Sugar (if you wish to add the caramelised sugar rim)
Biggar Asian Spiced Rum 20ml Coffee Liqueur 75ml
Orange Liqueur 20ml
Black coffee (why not try beans from Strathaven-based small batch roaster, Fower?) – fill to within an inch of the top of the glass
Whipped cream
Grated chocolate to garnish Method: Make your coffee. Whip the cream. Rim the edge of the glass with sugar.
(The drink will taste as good if you skip this step)
Use a kitchen torch to caramelise the sugar Add Biggar Asian Spiced Rum, coffee, coffee liqueur and orange liqueur to the glass. Top with the whipped cream. Use the back of a spoon to help it float. Grate some dark chocolate over the top. The perfect end to a perfect Mother’s
Day.