New Year celebrations are always better in Scotland

Nowhere in the world does New Year better than Scotland.
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There’s a myriad of food, drinks and traditions associated with bringing in the New Year. The act of “first footing” originated across the water, where it was considered lucky if the first person across the threshold was a tall, dark haired man. He would carry coal to bring warmth to the house, shortbread to ensure a year of plenty and whiskey to toast the health of all those in the house. Another tradition is that of “reddin up”. If you brought the New Year in in an untidy house you bring bad luck for the year, so it was important to red up, or tidy up the house.

Food wise there are many dishes associated with this time of year. Cock-a-leekie soup is a simple but delicious soup. There are many variations of this recipe but the one featured here includes the essential element of chicken and leeks but with the addition of barley. In some recipes you could substitute rice and often prunes are added. If you fancy giving this latter suggestion a go that’s up to you but it wouldn’t be my cup of tea. Around the world eating pork is very popular as a dish to see in the New Year. It’s considered lucky as pigs trot forward, meaning success and progress for the year ahead. The recipe here is for a slow cooked shoulder of pork with apple gravy. Serve with potatoes and cabbage on the side. In the deep southern states of America eating greens are thought to signify dollars or green backs with the prospect of a wealthy year.

Tonight on BBC2 NI at 7.45 there’s a special Hamely Kitchen Hogmanay Special programme where I’ll be cooking cock-a-leekie soup, a duck dish and a clootie dumpling with whiskey butter. We filmed at the Kilchoman distillery in Islay. It’s unique because they produce a 100% Islay whiskey from barley from their farm that’s malted over their own peat. Clootie dumpling is a pudding like a Christmas pudding where dried fruit is mixed with spices, suet, breadcrumbs among other things and then steamed. For an Ulster twist I added veda crumbs to the mix for a malty taste. The pudding is served with a whipped whiskey butter, from Islay of course, on the side. You can catch up with the show on BBC Iplayer and there are couple of bonus short films featuring a “het pint” and a vegetable garland. A het pint would have been served at new year and involves whisking egg, ale, sugar and whiskey over heat until creamy.

Happy new year and hope 2023 is a good one.

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