For food lovers the
place to be in Scotland this week is the Eastern Highlands where
you can enjoy the Highland Feast. Since last Friday (29 September
2006) the festival runs until Saturday 15 October 2006 with a
veritable banquet of food and drink to suit all palates on offer.
Visit
www.highlandfeast.co.uk for the full range of events. This week
we are concentrating on one event only – one which features
Scotland’s favourite breakfast delight – porridge. Porridge – ‘Chief
of Scotia’s Food’ as Robert Burns rightly described it – accompanied
by a bowl of creamy milk has sustained generations of Scots. The
‘Chief of Scotia’s Food’ has enjoyed a revival in recent years as
people rediscover its healthy properties in a food conscious age.
For porridge devotees, Carrbridge is the must visit destination this
Sunday (8 October 2006) for the World Porridge Championship.
This year will see
the 13th annual The Golden Spurtle World Porridge
Championship in the Highland village. The competition is organised
by the Carrbridge and Vicinity Community Council and the title of
World Porridge Making Champion is awarded to the chef deemed to have
made the best traditional porridge using oatmeal, water and salt. As
well as the coveted title and the ‘Golden Spurtle’ award the winner
receives a £350 hotel voucher and a cash prize of £250. There is
also a Speciality Porridge competition for porridge with other
ingredients. The winner receives the Duncan Hilditch Quaich and a
cash prize of £150. The day starts off with the Great Porridge Fun
Run at various distances including a Minis fun run. Then at 12.30pm
a piper will lead a procession of the porridge makers and then the
World Championships will be underway. Other activities include the
Cairngorm Farmers market, street performers and live music. Visit
www.goldenspurtle.com for full details and times.
Traditional porridge
already features on this site but oatmeal adds flavour and goodness
to many meals as you will find with this week’s recipe – Oatmeal
Tattie Rissoles.
Oatmeal Tattie
Rissoles
Ingredients:
1lb (500g) potatoes, peeled; 1 small onion, chopped; 1 egg, beaten;
3oz (75g) mature cheddar, grated; 4oz (100g) good Scottish oatmeal;
beaten egg to coat; salt and pepper; vegetable oil for cooking
Method: Boil
then mash potatoes and mix with finely chopped onion, cheese and
beaten egg. Leave to cool in fridge. When cool, shape into patties,
dip in beaten egg, then coat in oatmeal (the good bit). Cook the
patties in the vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until
brown.
