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Cuisine

Scottish Food

Shortbread, oats, smoked fish and the Burns supper.

Haggis with neeps and tatties
Photo: Biology Big Brother via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped

Scottish cooking leans on oats, butter, game and some of the best fish and shellfish in Europe. Its baking (shortbread above all) is a cornerstone of afternoon tea across the UK.

Recipes

Scottish Food recipes

A black bun cut open to show the dense, dark fruit filling inside its pastry case

Recipe · 3 hr 30 min

Black Bun

Bake it now for Hogmanay: a dense, spiced fruit cake sealed inside a pastry case that needs weeks to mature.

A plate of clapshot, mashed potato and swede with chives, beside oatcakes

Recipe · 40 min

Clapshot

Orkney's buttery mash of potato and swede with chives: two Scottish staples better together, and ready in 30 minutes.

A round, dark clootie dumpling on a plate

Recipe · 4 hr 5 min

Clootie Dumpling

A spiced fruit pudding boiled in a cloth for hours until it forms its famous dark skin: Scotland's great celebration pudding.

A bowl of cock-a-leekie soup with shredded chicken and leeks

Recipe · 2 hr

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

Chicken, leeks and a few prunes simmered into a clear, savoury broth: one of Scotland's oldest soups.

Glasses of cranachan beside a bottle of Scotch whisky

Recipe · 25 min

Cranachan

Toasted oats, whisky-and-honey cream and fresh raspberries: the Scottish summer pudding that ends a Burns supper.

A bowl of Cullen skink with a bread roll

Recipe · 45 min

Cullen Skink

A thick, creamy soup of smoked haddock, potato and onion from the Moray coast of Scotland.

A stack of Scotch pancakes with syrup

Recipe · 20 min

Drop Scones (Scotch Pancakes)

Small, thick pancakes cooked on a griddle in minutes: buttered warm, with jam or syrup, for tea or breakfast.

A Dundee cake topped with rings of whole almonds

Recipe · 2 hr 25 min

Dundee Cake

A lighter Scottish fruit cake with orange peel, finished with rings of whole blanched almonds.

Haggis served with neeps and tatties and gravy

Recipe · 1 hr 10 min

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties with Whisky Sauce

Happy St Andrew's Day: Scotland's national dish, made easy, with buttery neeps, fluffy tatties and a creamy whisky sauce.

A macaroni pie in a hot-water-crust pastry case, held in the hand

Recipe · 1 hr 30 min

Macaroni Pie

Macaroni cheese baked inside a crisp hot-water crust: the Scottish bakery classic that sounds odd and tastes brilliant.

A square of millionaire's shortbread with a chocolate top

Recipe · 3 hr

Millionaire's Shortbread

Buttery shortbread, thick golden caramel and a layer of chocolate: the richest traybake in the tin.

A plate of savoury mince with mashed potatoes

Recipe · 55 min

Mince and Tatties

Savoury beef mince simmered with onion and carrot, served with buttery mash: Scotland's favourite everyday supper.

A bowl of Scotch broth served with a bread roll

Recipe · 2 hr 5 min

Scotch Broth

A hearty Scottish soup of lamb, pearl barley, split peas and root vegetables.

A round Scotch pie on a white plate

Recipe · 1 hr 40 min

Scotch Pie

Small, round hot-water-crust pies filled with spiced minced lamb, with a sunken lid that leaves room for gravy or beans.

A pile of rough Scottish oatcakes

Recipe · 45 min

Scottish Oatcakes

Crisp, rough oatcakes made with just oatmeal, a little fat and hot water: perfect with cheese, soup or stovies.

Scottish smoked salmon with brown bread, butter, capers and lemon

Recipe · 10 min

Scottish Smoked Salmon with Brown Bread

The Christmas starter that needs no cooking: good Scottish smoked salmon, buttered brown bread, lemon and capers, ready in 10 minutes.

A round steak pie with a golden pastry lid in its dish

Recipe · 3 hr

Scottish Steak Pie

Slow-cooked beef in rich gravy under a puff pastry lid: the steak pie many Scottish families eat on New Year’s Day. Make the filling the day before.

Pieces of crumbly Scottish butter tablet

Recipe · 3 hr

Scottish Tablet

Sugar, butter and condensed milk boiled and beaten until it sets firm and grainy: sweeter and crumblier than fudge.

A plate of stovies with beef, served with oatcakes

Recipe · 1 hr 10 min

Stovies

Potatoes and onions slowly "stoved" in dripping with leftover roast meat: Scotland's great thrifty supper.

A golden, griddled Scottish potato scone

Recipe · 30 min

Tattie Scones

Thin potato scones cooked on a dry griddle: an essential part of a Scottish breakfast and a good use for leftover mash.

A tray of shortbread being cut into fingers

Recipe · 1 hr 5 min

Scottish Shortbread

Three ingredients, one ratio: pale, crumbly, buttery shortbread.

Part of British Isles cuisine.