Scottish Hampers Delivered Anywhere in the EU

Exciting times at Scottish Hampers HQ after a few trial runs we are now ready to send our Scottish Hampers anywhere in the EU – the following countries are now available to select when choosing your delivery address.

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden

The exact delivery price will be give on the shopping cart page when you choose your delivery country

As the delivery times for EU countries are likely to be a couple of days extra we would not recommend sending any of or fresh goods such as smoked meats or cheeses in your hampers

We also aim to have full international delivery in the coming months as we do get alot of enquires about this particualy from the US and Austrailia so if you are outside the EU hang in there we will be coming soon!  ……

Scottish Hampers on Twitter

Everyone is on twitter right? Well after months of people telling us to go on it we finally took the plunge, so for the latest news / offers and general ramblings from us please follow us at http://www.twitter.com/scottishhampers.

Initial impressions are good we have had quite a few visitors from twitter and lots of people following us so well will try and keep it updated with the latest goings on from Scottish Hampers HQ.

Scottish Gift Boxes

After a long time  designing and planning we now have in stock our range of modern luxury Scottish gift boxes – Many customers have asked for this option instead of the more traditional wicker hampers and after selecting the perfect boxes we can now offer them alongside our existing hamper range. They come in three sizes; single bottle size , medium and large. Each box is finished in luxurious black with our emblem foil blocked on to the front. The boxes also feature  concealed magnets which hold the lid shut

For Corporate or larger orders we can also offer customization of the logo on the front of the box to add that extra special touch to your gift hamper

The gift boxes are only available via our all new make your own hamper service at the moment but we will be launching a range of hampers in the near future all featuring the boxes

Please visit our make your own hampers page for more details on our gift boxes

Make Your Own Hampers

We have added a new feature to the Scottish hampers site this week and its our favourite yet!  Our fully interactive “make your own hamper” service and its ready to test drive  here . You can now choose the hamper basket or gift box of your choice and add all the Scottish goodies all on the same page without having to go in and out of our shopping cart as previous customers will remember. As well as making it easier to navigate the food menus and add items to your custom hamper, we have add a “hamper space meter” which shows you at a glance how full your current hamper is, making it easy to add the right amount of Scottish produce to your hamper .

As you add items to your hamper or gift box they will appear in the left column along with a running total you can change the the quantities of items you selected or even remove them if you wish – at any point you can change to a different hamper especially useful if you need extra space !

Once you are happy with your make your own hamper selection then click the “checkout” button and proceed throught the checkout process as normal simple!

We have tested the service on all major browsers and everything appears to be working correctly but if you have any problems with the service then please do let us know.

Happy Hamper building!

Make Your Own Hamper Here

Raspberry and Drambuie creme fraiche tart

Serves 6

Although this is perfect served in the summer when Scottish raspberries are in season, it is also good during the dark winter months, using frozen raspberries.  When I go berry-picking at my local pick your own farm, I always buy masses extra, then, once jam is made and tummies replete from over indulging in the freshly picked fruit, the rest are frozen for winter.

Ingredients

50g/ 1 ¾ oz and 3 tablespoons of golden caster sugar

125g/4 ½ oz ground almonds

125g/4 ½ oz plain flour, sifted

125g/4 ½ oz butter, diced

1 medium and 2 large free-range eggs

1 x 200ml tub of crème fraiche, plus 4 heaped tablespoons to serve

4 tablespoons Drambuie

250g/9 oz raspberries

Method

For the pastry, place the 50g/ 1 ¾ oz sugar, the almonds, flour and butter in a food processor, and process until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Add the medium egg, and process.  Gather the mixture into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 1 hour.

Roll out the dough to fit a 23cm/9 in deep tart tin.  Prick the base then chill for several hours, preferable overnight.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.

Line the pastry case with foil and baking beans and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Remove the pastry case from the oven (leaving the oven on) and allow to cool.

Beat together the remaining sugar, the 2 large eggs, the 200ml of crème fraiche and 2 tablespoons of the Drambuie.  Pour the mixture into the pastry case.   Arrange the raspberries in a single layer on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until just set.  Allow to cool in the tin.

Beat the remaining crème  fraiche with the remaining Drambuie and serve with the tart.

Scotch pancakes with Inverawe smoked trout and sour cream

Serves 8 (24-30 pancakes)

If you make the pancakes a couple of days in advance, wrap then in clingfilm and store them in the fridge.  When you come to use them on the day of serving, however, they need no reheating and can be served just as they are.

Make this size (dessertspoon) for canapés or use a tablespoon to make larger pancakes to serve on plates as a first course.

Smoked salmon is a good substitute if you cannot find the Inverawe cold-smoked trout.

Ingredients

125g/4 ½ oz self raising flour, sifted

100g/3 ½ oz wholemeal self raising flour

2 large free range eggs

300ml/1/2 pint milk

A pinch of salt

2 heaped teaspoons horseradish sauce

Butter, for greasing

1 x 284ml tub soured cream

Freshly ground black pepper

1 x 400g pack of Inverawe cold smoked trout

Snipped chives or dill fronds to garnish

Method

Place the flours, eggs, milk and salt in a food processor, add 1 teaspoon of the horseradish sauce and process until smooth.  (or whisk by hand with a balloon whisk)

Place a large, heavy-based frying pan or girdle (griddle) on a medium heat and lightly butter the surface, using kitchen paper.  When the pan is sufficiently hot (test by dropping a teaspoonful of batter on to the surface: it should bubble within 1 minute), drop 1 dessertspoonful of batter into the pan and repeat three times to make 4 pancakes.  After 1-2 minutes, you will see bubbles: this is the sign to flip the pancakes over.  Cook for a further minute or so, until batter does not ooze out when lightly pressed with your fingers.

Remove to a wire rack and cover loosely with a tea towel.

Continue making the pancakes until the batter is all used up.

For the topping, mix the soured cream with the remaining horseradish and some salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon some of the cream mixture over each pancake and garnish with some smoked trout and chives or dill.

Scottish Oatmeal Bannocks

Makes 4 large bannocks

These bannocks are lovely soft, thick cakes made of oatmeal and flour.  They differ from oatcakes which are thinner and more crispy.  They are wonderful served warm with a warm bowl of hearty soup.

A girdle is traditional for making bannock; you can use a large heavy frying pan but it is rather more difficult to flip the bannocks unless you use a bendy spatula which can push down the sides of the frying pan.

If you cannot find buttermilk, you can use sour milk made by adding 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to regular milk and leaving it to stand for 5 minutes.

Ingredients

175g/6 oz plain flour, sifted

200g/7 oz medium oatmeal

1 teaspoon salt

25g/1 oz butter

1 rounded teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 ½  teaspoons cream of tartar

250ml/9 fl oz buttermilk or sour milk

Method

Mix the flour, oatmeal and salt in a bowl.

Over a gently heat, melt the butter and honey.

Stir the bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar into the milk, then tip this, together with the melted butter mixture, into the flour.  Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, lightly butter a girdle (griddle) and heat over a medium heat until hot.  Tip the mixture on to the girdle and spread out to form a circle, about 25cm/10 in diameter.

Leave to cook for about 5-6 minutes until the underside is set, then cut with a knife into quarters.  Now carefully flip the quarters over.  Lower the heat to medium – low and continue to cook until done – about another 7 -8 minutes.

Remove the bannocks to a wire rack to cool slightly.  Serve warm, split and spread with butter.

Squashed ham sandwich

Serves 2

This is a sandwich, but not as most people know it………

What could be more homely and simple than a mustard-enhanced ham sandwich?  But because most of us travel to picnics by car, this one also requires the diner to sit on the sandwich to help everything blend together, the butter melting seductively into the bread and the mustard an ham blissfully uniting.  It is not simply a gimmick – although the kids love it when you ask then to sit on their lunch – it also tastes wonderful.

The idea for this sat- upon sandwich is from American food writer M.F.K Fisher’s ‘Railroad Sandwich’ (from her words, ‘a serene onlooker), preferably one of ample girth, to do the sitting.  Timing is not crucial but, depending on girth and corpulence, I advise a minimum of 20 minutes.

Ingredients

1 short, wide French loaf (about 30cm/12 in long

55-75g/2-2 ¾ oz butter

Edinburgh Preserves Honey & Whisky Mustard

About 115g/4 oz quality cooked ham, sliced

Method

Slice the loaf horizontally into 2 halves.  Remove some of the soft bread inside to make more room for the filling.  Spread both cut sides generously with the butter, then smear mustard on to one side.

Place the ham slices along one half, then top with the other half, pressing down firmly together.  Never consider adding extras such as tomatoes or lettuce, unless you want a perfectly squashed sandwich with judiciously measured filling to end up a slimy disaster.

Wrap the loaf in foil, then in a plastic bag and finally in a tea towel.  Ask the chosen sandwich -squasher to sit on the  loaf (gently but firmly) for about 20-30 minutes.

Before eating, carefully unwrap the sandwich, cut in two and devour.

Ciabatta picnic loaf with farmhouse cheese

Serves 6

There are many variations of this deliciously moist picnic loaf.  Because it is jam-packed with scrummy filling, it is seriously messy to eat, which makes it perfect for outdoors.

Although sun-dried tomatoes are rather – well- passé, they still impart a very special flavour to robust dishes such as this.  If you cannot find sun-dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil, then do not use the oil from the jar: rather, use extra virgin olive oil.

For the cheese, I like to use  Inverloch Old Smokey Gigha

Remember to prepare the loaf on the eve of your picnic to give the flavours time to merge overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients

1 ciabatta loaf

1 x 280g jar of sun-dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil

3 heaped tablespoons of pesto (red or green)

50g/1 ¾ oz rocket

1 extra large tomato, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

100g/3 ½ oz quality salami, thinly sliced

150/5 ½ oz Inverloch Old Smokey Gigha

Method

Cut the loaf in half lengthways and remove about 2 tablespoons of the soft bread inside, to leave more room for the filling.  Place both halves side by side on a board.

If you have been able to find sun-dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil, strain off 2 tablespoons oil from the jar; otherwise, use a regular extra virgin olive oil.  Drizzle the oil over one half of the loaf, and spread the pesto over the other half.  Pile the rocket on top of the pesto and squish down.  Place the tomato slices on top and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove about half the sun-dried tomatoes from the jar, and chop roughly; then place on top of the tomato slices.  Cover with salami.

Remove the rind from the cheese then slice the cheese thinly and add to the pile.  Place the other half of the ciabatta on the top and clamp the two halves together.  Tuck in any bits of filling that are trying to escape.  Tightly wrap the ciabatta in double foil, then in clingfilm.  Place the parcel in the salad drawer of your fridge with a heavy weight, such as cartons of juice, on top.  Next day, take the loaf to your picnic and cut it with a very sharp knife.

Winter pea, ham and mustard soup

Serves 5- 6

This is a wonderfully warming wintry soup, at once thick and comforting.  The original idea comes from the time I spent in the north of Finland where, every Thursday, the Finns eat thick pea and mustard soup and pancakes (oven-baked pancake, rather like a sweet Yorkshire pudding) for lunch.  This soup, with only four ingredients, couldn’t be simpler yet it is absolutely delicious on a cold winter day.

Ask your butcher whether the ham hock requires overnight soaking – some are saltier than other; if in doubt, soak for several hours in cold water.

Ingredients

350g/12 oz dried green split peas

1 ham hock

1 large onion,peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Soak the peas overnight.

Rinse the peas and place then in a large saucepan with the ham hock, onion and mustard.  Pour in 1 litre/1 3/3 pints boiling water and plenty of pepper.  Cover and bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for about 50 minutes.

Remove the ham from the pan and drain over a sieve.  Once cool enough to handle, cut off chunks of the meat with a sharp knife, and reserve.

Whiz the soup with a hand-held blender (or in a liquidiser) and add salt to taste.  Add the chunks of ham to the soup and reheat gently.  Serve in warm bowls with an extra dollop of mustard if you like.