RECIPES FROM THE ISLE OF
RONA
Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall's Mackerel with rhubarb and mint
Dry Harbour Mussels
Rona Risotto
Rona Mint Sauce
Dry Harbour Rosehip Jelly
Rona Chanterelles
Dry Harbour Field Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble
Rona Rose Hip Syrup
James`
Chicken Curry And Basmati Rice
Rona
Oatcakes With Parmesan
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Mackerel with rhubarb and mint
Hugh visited Rona in June to film for part of a forthcoming programme. He went fishing with Bill on the MV Rona, and caught our first mackerel of the year (After catching the only three mackerel around, Hugh encouraged Bill to try a baby jellyfish but this won't be appearing on future menus at Rona Lodge!) After visiting Dry Harbour where wild rhubarb and mint grow in abundance, it was back to Rona Lodge with the ingredients for lunch:
Clean and gut the mackerel, then pan fry in a generous amount of equal part olive and sunflower oil. Meanwhile, clean and chop young rhubarb stalks into 5cm lengths, then gently cook in a saucepan with two tablespoons of sugar until tender - cook gently to retain the shape of the rhubarb. When the mackerel are cooked, throw a handful of chopped mint into the rhubarb and cook for a further couple of minutes.
Serve the fish with the rhubarb as a
vegetable.
June 2007
25 - 30 Large unopened mussels
1 white or red onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
1/2 glass white wine or cider or water
Butter or oil for frying
Wait until the tide is out, go to the far side of the bay and look for
mussels from the lower rock faces nearest the tides edge. Pick enough
large unopened mussels to use. For the best taste use immediately, but
store in fridge if necessary but not for long. Clean by scraping off
barnacles and removing beards. Soften onion in melted butter or heated
oil in a large pan with a lid. Add the garlic to the pan. Fry gently
for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the white wine/cider/water, and bring to simmering
point. Add the mussels and keep at simmering point with the lid on.
Check after 3 to 4 minutes and shake the pan to ensure evenly heated
throughout. When shells are opened place cooked mussels in large serving
bowl with the stock poured over. Discard any unopened shells. Serve
with fresh bread.
Recipe given by Tina and
John Bessel, end July 2002
Rona Risotto
2 carrier bags large green nettle leaves
2 cloves garlic crushed
Parmesan cheese for serving
Olive oil for frying
Recipe given by Rekha Pandey, who stayed in Skyescape with her husband
Morris and Shakti, mid August 2002
Rona Mint Sauce
2 stalks fresh mint
1 large tomato chopped
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1/4 tin chopped tomatoes
Chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
Collect 2 stalks of fresh mint from the valley behind the Schoolhouse leading up to the well. Wash and dry mint and chop up and crush (use empty, washed bottle). In a bowl, add all the ingredients together and mix well. Liquidise if possible and serve.
Recipe given by Rekha Pandey, who stayed in Skyescape with her husband Morris and Shakti, mid August 2002
Dry Harbour Rosehip Jelly
Red Rosehips
Water
Jelly bag
Sugar
Apples
Collect red rosehips and weigh in pounds. Roughly chop up and place
in pan with 1/2 pint water per pound of rosehips. Simmer until the rosehips
are soft and pulpy. Pour mixture into jelly bag and strain overnight.
Reserve liquid and add 1lb sugar per pint of liquid. Bring liquid and
sugar mixture to the boil. When setting point is reached (usually within
20 - 40 minutes) pour into warmed jars. Try adding apples to first stage
to make an alternative mix.
Recipe given by Alison Smith, St Cyrus. Stayed on Rona August/September
2002
Rona Chanterelles
Sliced Chanterelles
1 - 2 cloves garlic chopped
Olive Oil for frying
Cream (optional)
Pick Chanterelle mushrooms
in the Birchwoods around the Island - above Rona Lodge is the best place
- usually around mid July and August. To ensure a crop for next year,
please use a knife to cut the mushrooms, rather than pulling them out
of the ground. Clean mushrooms and leave to dry by window, or when cooking
fry moisture out first. Heat oil in frying pan and add garlic. Add sliced
mushrooms and fry quickly until edges are brown. Serve immediately.
Alternatively, add cream to pan when ready, reduce for 2 minutes stirring
at a high heat and serve with steak or spaghetti.
Recipe given by Bruce Taylor and Nicky Guthrie, July 2002
Dry Harbour Field Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble
6 Rhubarb stalks
Sugar to sweeten
Water
2 - 3 tbsp ginger preserve jam
5 heaped tbsp flour (SR or Plain)
50gms (approx 1/5 of a packet) Butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
Cut rhubarb from field in front of cottages at Dry Harbour. Discard any leaves. Cut stems into 2cm pieces and place in pan with a few tablespoons of water and sugar to sweeten. Simmer gently for 15 minutes until softened. Mix with 2 - 3 tablespoons of ginger preserve jam. Place in oven-proof dish.
Make crumble by rubbing in flour with cold butter from the fridge, and add sugar. Spread crumble mix on top of fruit and ginger mixture. Bake in oven gas mark 5 for 30 minutes.
Recipe given by Tina and John Bessel, end July 2002
a handful of rosehips
a tablespoon of honey
a tablespoon of sugar
(a garlic crusher)
Pick a handful of rosehips from the bush in front of Seascape. (The
ones you want are those that come away from their stems and which when
you squeeze them issue some pith. These tend to be the scarlet rather
than the crimson hips). Place the rosehips in a saucepan with a cup
of water and a tablespoon of honey. Simmer gently until the water has
almost all gone, replenish the water and repeat several times, each
time mashing the rosehips. Strain the mixture (I used the fryingpan
guard; you could use the teastrainer, although a garlic crusher would
be even better to extract further liquid from the pith). Add a tablespoon
of sugar to the liquid, another cup of water and finally reduce to a
tomato ketchup-like colour and consitency. Serve a teaspoon of the syrup
on rice pudding. It has an orangey flavour, so goes well with orange
zest (as with Dry Harbour Watermint).
Recipe given by Graham Pullin and Lorraine Shill, October 2003
James’
Chicken Curry and Basmati rice
James
MacKinnon from Ardrishaig has been closely involved with Rona since
1992, rebuilding Rona Lodge, the Mission House and more recently the
Solicitor’s House. On
every visit James makes a curry and this is his recipe.
The
curry tastes best when cooked, left to cool and re-heated thoroughly the
following day. When cooled,
the curry has a spicy oil on the surface which is used to flavour the
accompanying basmati rice.
4
x chicken breasts, cubed and marinated overnight in the juice of 2
lemons
2
x tbsp vegetable oil
1
heaped tsp cumin seeds
1
large Spanish onion
1
heaped tsp garam masala
1
heaped tsp ground cumin
½
tsp chilli powder
½
tube garlic puree
½
tube ginger puree
½
tube tomato puree
3
heaped tsp tumeric
2
x chicken stock cubes made into ½ pint stock
1
tin chopped tomatoes
Salt
and pepper to taste
Heat
oil in a large saucepan and fry cumin seeds for 1 minute.
Add
the chopped onion and fry until soft.
Add
the ginger and garlic puree, and spices to the softened onions and mix
well.
Add
the stock, tomatoes and tomato puree and seasoning.
Finally
add the chicken, bring to boiling point and simmer for at least an hour.
James’
Basmati Rice
½
onion
2
cups basmati rice
Salt,
pepper
Cook
the rice according to directions.
8oz
porridge oats
8oz
fine oatmeal
½
tsp bicarbonate of soda
½
tsp salt
2
oz butter
6
fl oz water
1
oz grated parmesan cheese
Additional
fine oatmeal for kneading and rolling
Preheat
oven to Gas mark 5
Put
all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Put
the water and butter in a saucepan, heat until the butter has melted.
Add
the water and melted butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to
form a dough, adding more oatmeal if mixture is too moist.
Dust
a surface with oatmeal and knead the dough to bring the mixture
together. Roll the dough to
1/8 – 1/4” thickness depending on preference.
Cut
into rounds and place on metal baking trays dusted with flour to prevent
sticking.
Place
on the top shelf of the oven, alternating trays if more than one tray of
oatcakes is being baked.
Bake
for 40 minutes or until golden, turning oatcakes over halfway through
cooking.
