Seasonal Summer Specialities

Inspired by some of the best weather we have enjoyed in Scotland in more than a handful of years it seemed only right to set the menu for our latest Food, Fun and Fizz around the warm weather wave and the seasonal deliciousness of early summer produce.

As always in conjunction with Pieter Rosenthal of Cork and Bottle we set about combining a menu that showcased some of our favourite artisan food producers with a range of perfectly matched wines.

The date was significant in itself. June 20^th, the official end of the asparagus season. Despite starting very late yet again (this year most Scottish growers began picking well into the third week of May) the season will be completed on that date, thus allowing the asparagus crown under the ground time recuperation time for the 2014 season.  Naturally we featured grilled Scottish asparagus on the menu and accompanied it with the old favourite, a dipping of hollandaise sauce.

You don’t have to venture far into any central belt farmers’ market at the moment before you smell the rich, ripe, earthiness of local tomatoes, fresh from the vine. With Tasting Scotland’s HQ a stone’s throw away from the most highly regarded tomato area in the country, naturally we featured the infamous Clyde Valley Tomato. Served diced on bruschetta they tasted, quite simply, like tomatoes should. 

With green asparagus, ripe red tomatoes, the last of the season’s foraged wild garlic combined with other seasonal greens to create a flavour impactive soup, cold smoked chicken from the borders based Teviot smokery and two cheeses (one a Loch Arthur Farmhouse cloth-bound traditional with 6 months ageing and the other a crowdie form Highland Fine Cheeses), our guests enjoyed the definite buzz of Scottish summer on a plate.

And we can’t leave without mentioning the piece de la resistance, our Gourmet 99! Without a chocolate flake in sight and not withstanding giving Pieter a matching nightmare, it was a joy to introduce an unusual strawberry topping: vinegar. It matched perfectly with the creamy, sweetness of the Scottish ice-cream. Inspired and proud of what’s on their doorstep, there was no better way of saying farewell to our guests and they headed out into a balmy Scottish sunset.

Our next event is during ‘Scotland Food Fortnight’ on 12^th September 2013. Tickets available on our events page www.tastingscotland.com/events/ 

 20^th June 2013

‘SEASONAL SUMMER SPECIALITIES’

 Canapés 

Broad Bean & Crowdie – Highland Fine Cheese

Tomato Bruschetta – Clyde Valley Tomatoes

Kintyre Smoked Mussels – The Old Smokehouse

Smoked Salmon Mousse – Teviot Smokery

Wine: Ortrugo DOC – Vino Frizzante 2012 – Italy (£11.75)

 The King of Veg

Asparagus – Scottish (naturally!)

Wine: Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc 2012 – Marlborough, New Zealand (£11.00)

 The Taste Test

Fruit vinegars

Apple – Dalchonzie Fruit Farm, Comrie

Blackcurrant | Gooseberry – West Craigie Fruit Farm, Dalmeny

 Summer Harvest Soup

Wild Garlic foraged in the Kingdom of Fife

Wine: Les Combes Terraventoux – Vaucluse, France (£6.50)

 Pearly Gates of Heavenly Chicken

Pearl Barley – Locavore, Glasgow

Smoked Chicken – Teviot Smokery

Wine: Chateau Routas – Wild Boar Rosé 2012 – Provence, France (£8.50)

7 Springs Young Vines Pinot Noir 2011 – South Africa (£14.99)

 You’ll have had your Cheese

Loch Arthur Farmhouse Cheese, Beeswing, Dumfries

Oatmeal & Peppercorn Crowdie – Highland Fine Cheese, Tain

Wine: Luis Canas Rioja Crianza 2009 – Spain (£11.95) 

 The gourmet 99!

Strawberry Vinegar, West Craigie Fruit Farm, Dalmeny Estate

Beer: Rodenbach Grand Cru Flemish Red Ale (£3.50)