Scotland’s Culinary Easter Feast
Preceding the satisfying crack of a smashed chocolate egg at Easter is the main course, but why is mint the perfect gastro pairing for the sacrifical lamb?
Like other Christian countries Scotland celebrates Easter with gastronomic gusto with the humble egg the symbolic heart of a religious feast focusing on both redemption and regeneration. Hot cross buns and to a lesser extent this side of the border, Simnel Cake are also as representative of Easter as pancakes are of Pancake Day.
A perfect gastro pairing, Roast Rack of Lamb with Mint Sauce
Wagyu Beef and Wagyu crossed with Aberdeen Angus raised with tender, loving care at Greenhall
Linda, co-owner of Greenhall View Farm shared her insight on why just the other day when I happened to stumble across her Wagyu & Wagyu cross Aberdeen Angus beef farm when out on a trip visiting the soon to be opened 5 Star Crossbasket Castle just outside Glasgow.
Once she assured me I wasn’t losing my touch for all things foodie related – the farm sign really did only go up last week and they really had only just opened – she regaled that it was once thought perfectly logical to serve livestock along with whatever that livestock had itself been eating. Hence mint sauce would be served with mutton and horseradish sauce with beef, given that cows would chew a cud of horseradish roots amongst their daily fill of grass.
And so, as is often the case, an unexpected hour long conversation of all things foodie ensued and between us we shared a few other reasons why mint and lamb (less than a year old), hogget (1 – 2 years old) or mutton (over 2) are quintessentially perfect in every way:
1. Cooking in tune with nature. Pre-transportation, you cooked with what you had around you.
2. It is unlikely that lamb, would’ve often been eaten. More likely is the older, stronger tasting hogget or mutton. Mint when mixed with the strong vinegar would have masked the stronger flavours. Sugar too of course would have been added to the mint sauce during late medieval times – but only sparingly as it would still have been the reserve of the riches and used in the same way as a spice.
3. The acidity of the vinegar would have helped to cut through the high levels of fat in the meat.
4. The history books tell us that Queen Elizabeth I decreed that meat could only be served with bitter herbs in an attempt to curb the consumption of lamb and mutton in order to help the wool industry. It back-fired however as it was quickly acknowledged that mint matched perfectly, as of course did rosemary!
So, there you have it and whether it’s roasted, grilled, painted or dyed, savoury or sweet, may you have a wonderfully delicious and relaxing Easter!
Tastefully yours,
Brenda
Incidentally, did you know Pancake Day stems from needing the pantry cleared of milk and eggs before the Lenten fast? A surplus of eggs once again by Easter was normal. Have you ever tried to stop a hen laying for lent?
Tasting Scotland Gastro Tours incorporating Crossbasket Castle
The 5 star Crossbasket Castle is managed by the luxury hotel group ICMI (which under Norbert Lieder’s wing so expertly looks after running of the majestic Inverlochy Castle Hotel and Andy Murray’s Cromlix House to name but a few). Crossbasket Castle is due to open on 1st May, having been undergoing a stunning renovation for the past 2 years.
Guests of Tasting Scotland will be guaranteed top quality Scottish produce cooked in the hotel restaurant where three generations of the famous Roux chef dynasty come together. To make it part of your next gastro corporate event or bucket list vacation in Scotland get in touch with me on brenda@tastingscotland.com
Greenhall View Farm is across the road from the Castle and they sell their Wagyu and Wagyu X Aberdeen Angus beef and other produce from the farm as well as nearby.
