Recipe for Scottish Oatcakes with Olive Oil

 
Have a break, have an oatcake!

Yes, that's right...don't go for that chocolatey wafer that satisfies you for about 2 minutes and then you're off raiding the cupboards for another snack.  Oatcakes  made with extra-virgin olive oil are one of the best snacks you can have.   Oats are a superfood containing protein, essential fats and minerals including zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron.  They also contain soluble fibre that helps to reduce cholesterol, B vitamins for healthy skin, nails and hair, and helps the absorption of vitamin C (so have a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice along with your oatcakes!)  And don't forget that the energy you're getting is released slowly, so it'll keep you going for longer and you won't need anything more to eat until your next meal.

Ingredients

300g fine oatmeal

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

9 tablespoons boiling hot water
                 
 

Method

- Mix the oats, oil and salt together.  

-Stir in the hot water little by little until the dough is smooth.  

- Sprinkle some flour onto the work surface and roll out the dough when it is still warm.  

- The thickness depends on taste, but as a general guide, perhaps about a quarter of a centimetre.  

- Use a scone-cutter (or a glass if you don't have one) to cut out the shapes.

- I lightly cook the oatcakes on an old-fashioned griddle (a non-stick frying pan will do the same job), but they can also be oven baked for 15 mins at 180oC.

- One last tip...use a fish slice to transfer them from the worktop to the pan or baking tray as they can be quite fragile before being cooked.

 

If you live in our area of Scotland or decide to holiday in our self-catering holiday cottage near Blairgowrie, then you can visit Blair Atholl, also in Perthshire and see the oats being ground at the Blair Atholl Watermill, and buy a bag in the shop afterwards!

Oh, and you'll need some fresh local cheese to eat together with the freshly made oatcakes.  We can recommend 'Anster' cheese made by St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company.  Visit the farm, watch the cheese making from the viewing gallery, grab a cuppa in the coffee shop and buy a chunk to take home with you.  Well, if you can manage to wait until you get home...you could take the oatcakes and a knife with you and have a wee snack on the beach at St Andrews!

Scottish Cooking in a self-catering holiday cottage located in the heart of Scotland

Cook with Scotland's finest ingredients

Do you love cooking?  Like buying and using fresh local ingredients?  Then renting our self-catering holiday cottage near Blairgowrie, Perthshire  (Central Scotland) is the perfect spot to get creative in the kitchen.  Blairgowrie has regular farmer's markets in its town square and participates in the campaign for "slow food".  Perthshire is famous for its soft fruit - with most of the country's strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants coming from the Strathmore area of Scotland.  In fact, just across the stream from the holiday cottage you will see blackcurrant bushes growing that supply Ribena with its fruit!  Berries can be bought directly from the farm at a little shop near Guildtown.

You can purchase top quality meats such as beef, lamb and pork from local butchers, but if you are feeling more adventurous there is a Blairgowrie Farm Shop that can supply you with wild boar, rabbit and venison.  Of course, Perthshire is even more famous for its fish, and salmon and trout can be caught in the local rivers on purchase of a permit.  Though if you'd rather just buy it there is a fabulous little shop in Dunkeld called Dunkeld Smoked Salmon that we can personally recommend.

At the end of the day you can come home to the holiday cottage and cook these ingredients in our well-equipped kitchen.  There is a large fridge-freezer, 4 hob cooker, oven, grill, microwave and blender.  And at the end of the meal you don't even have to do the washing up as there is a fabulous dishwasher in the holiday cottage.  Mind you, with the lovely view from the kitchen window of the rock garden, and all the wildlife that you can see, you might be tempted to wash just a few dishes by hand!

To find out more and to book this self-catering holiday cottage, visit: http://holiday-accommodation-scotland.co.uk/

Recharge your batteries in our self-catering holiday cottage near Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland

Hotel standards without hotel prices

We have been consistently praised over the years for the cleanliness of our self-catering holiday cottage.  Many visitors have said that it has been the cleanest cottage that they have ever stayed in.  We pride ourselves on maintaining high standards, and if previous guests have left it in a mess we will call in other members of the family to help get it sparkling clean again for the next guests arriving at 3pm!

The furniture, bathroom fittings, bed linen and towels are all top quality, not mismatched and cheap like some holiday cottages that we ourselves have visited in Scotland.  We have decorated and furnished the holiday cottage to the high standard that we expect from a holiday cottage that we would choose to rent.  It is treated with the same care that we have for our own home...well, actually, we often joke that it's even nicer than our own home, and that if we ever need a holiday we could just come a spend a week here (despite our house being located on the farm nearby!)

To rent this self-catering holiday cottage please visit: http://holiday-accommodation-scotland.co.uk/

An open fire in a self-catering holiday cottage, Scotland

There's nothing like an open fire!

The weather in Scotland may not always be hot and sunny like continental Europe, but we can enjoy other sources of heat.  An open fire is something that not many modern houses have nowadays, so for many of our visitors it is a novelty.  When you book a holiday in this self-catering cottage you will be given an initial supply of kindling, coal and logs to get you started!  So many of our guests have enthused about their evenings spent in front of the fire.  Some curl up in front of it with a book, other watch films, and others still just watch the flames for entertainment.  It just adds something extra to your holiday in Scotland - sometimes the old fashioned things are the best.

Some tips on how to light a good fire:

- Scrunch up loose balls of newspaper and cover the fire grate with them.
- Place a layer of bought kindling (or dry sticks that you can gather from the wood beside the holiday cottage) on top of the newspaper.
- Lay some small pieces of coal on the layer of kindling.
- Light the newspaper, put the fire guard on, and stand back (sometimes kindling can send off a few small sparks!)
- Once the kindling begins to burn and heat up the coals, put on a little more coal.
- When you can see that the coals are turning orange, you can then put on some logs.  It's lovely to hear them crackle and smell the wood burning.  Bliss!

For more details visit: http://holiday-accommodation-scotland.co.uk/

Self-catering holiday cottage, Scotland

Hillview

Are you looking for a self-catering holiday cottage in Scotland that is clean, cosy, comfortable, classy, close to all the major tourist attractions and not to costly?  If the answer is yes, then you have come to the right site.

Hillview self-catering holiday cottage has been operating as a holiday cottage for over 18 years, and has consistently been given good reviews by those who have visited it.  It is the perfect country retreat for those wishing to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

As the name suggests, the holiday cottage is situated on a hill and offers breathtaking views of the Vale of Strathmore, Perthshire, one of Scotland's most picturesque areas.

It is ideal for those looking for something more low cost than a hotel or B&B.  The self-catering facilities allow you to cook in the cottage itself, but if you want a treat there are lots of superb restaurants offering typical Scottish cuisine in the local area. We have only two prices, low season and high season.  Please see our website for more details: http://holiday-accommodation-scotland.co.uk/