Simple and filling

Three delicious takes on an old Scottish favourite

BREAKFAST AT MARY’S Ingredients

They’re pricey – upwards of £59 for a milk pan – but on the bright side, seem to be cheaper than they used to be.

I cherish my old Le Pentole frypan, although you need to give it time for the base to heat up gently (10 mins or more) to have it perform at its non-adherent best. Yet ever since I discovered the skillets made by Netherton Foundry in Shropshire, it has taken a back seat.

Netherton Foundry’s spun iron frying pans are miraculous: sleek, light in the hand, they come already “seasoned” at very high temperatures with flax oil, so they’re non-stick without any chemical coating. Even egg doesn’t stick.

The only issue is that Netherton’s pans can’t go in the dishwasher. All I do is wash mine in hot water – soap would spoil their surface – and dry them off, either with a tea towel, or better still, on a low flame for a few minutes.

A big 36 cm skillet costs around £68, a bargain for something that will last forever if you look after it, and give you pleasure every time you use it.

I’ve toured the immortal Le Creuset factory at St Quentin in northern France where they make the real deal, enamelcoated cast iron cookware.

Their casseroles weigh a ton, cost a frightening amount – around £200 for a large one – gradually lose their enamel surface, but even so, for a melting stew, they’re peerless. Le Creuset gratin dishes, with their time-honoured designs, are hard to beat too.

And finally, after years of struggling with

a cumbersome, deep-sided steel roasting pan I’m a convert to the cheap, lightweight, enamel-covered tin equivalent from Falconware.

This nostalgic blue-rimmed brand loses its heat almost instantly, which makes it easy to handle from the oven. It roasts potatoes, or vegetables, producing those highly desirable crusty brown extremities, especially if you line it with baking parchment.

It comes up a treat in the dishwasher. One large enough to take a plump chicken and veg recently cost me £14. Something highly effective, but cheap. How wonderful!