destination degustation: plate 27: scotland

I really wanted to try haggis. I really, really did. But somehow the required sheep's "pluck" (the heart, liver and lungs) didn't exactly make my mouth water. Stumbling across another Scottish favourite - cock-a-leekie soup - I began to think that Scots are both revolting and rude.

haggis: the ribbon doesn't make you seem any more appealing, sorry

But nay, they are neither. While I admittedly girlishly giggled at the name cock-a-leekie, it made sense once I read what the dish included: chicken (cock) and leek (leekie). There were also other ingredients in this soup that appealed much more to my tastebuds than heart, liver and lungs: prunes (nature's lollies as a friend likes to call them), bacon, thyme and brown sugar.

Cock-a-leekie appears to date back to Medieval times and traditionally the chicken was served separately to the broth, but now it's sometimes eaten all in one bowl. It's also the classic starter at Burns' Night, celebrated in Scotland on January 25 to toast the life and works of their country's famous poet Robert Burns (author of Auld Lang Syne, although whether he actually wrote it is debated). While cock-a-leekie is one of the attractions of Burns' Night, haggis is THE highlight of the dinner. Diners are to rise as the haggis is ceremoniously brought to the table via a procession led by the chef and a bagpiper. True story.

I digress. While cock-a-leekie takes about three-and-a-half hours to cook, there's really nothing to it. Chop up a chook (or use chicken pieces), simmer it in stock and/or water, then an hour later add the leeks and herbs, then two hours after that add the bacon and prunes. No wonder this is part of special Scottish celebrations - it's downright delicious. Cooking the chicken for more than three hours results in what I think is the most tender, melt-in-the-mouth chicken I've ever eaten. The sweet flavour of the prunes worked magically with the bacon. Oh, and a little bit of rice is added too which thickens up the soup and makes it hearty enough to eat as a main and delicious enough to go back for seconds.

Dessert also took a long time to cook but little time to prepare. I was worried as Black Bun - a classic Scottish Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) dessert - required me to make pastry: something I've never done before. Our kitchen lacks a food processor, so I was left to the old-fashioned method of creating it by hand. While it wasn't perfect, the texture was crumbly and the taste buttery, so it seemed to work.

But what is black bun? Well, it's kind of like fruitcake, but wrapped up in pastry. I love dried fruit and this had lots: currants, raisins, sultanas, as well as mixed peel and lots of spices: cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and even a touch of cayenne pepper. Plus, whiskey - of course. The result: a scrumptiously rich, dense dessert. And in D Rose's words: DELICIEUX et MAGNIFIQUE. (I had given D Rose and Papa George some leftovers and yes, the text came through in caps.) Bless. If you do end up making it following the recipe I used, it doesn't specify how much buttermilk to add to the fruit mixture, only to stir it in until soft and moist, so I just added a little bit, about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup.