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Cuisine & Sample Menus |
With its game-rich glens, lush pastures cropped by Aberdeen Angus cattle and rivers home to wild salmon, it's not surprising that Scotland is known for flavoursome, quality cuisine. Not only is the country's beef exceptional, but the choice of other tasty meats includes grouse, pheasant and venison, all of which speak of mountains and forests where creatures roam free. The jagged coastline, with its islands and inlets, shelters a wealth of seafood including scallops, oysters, crabs and other shellfish, while further inland are the lochs and burns where trout and other freshwater fish swim. All of these are brought to table with local specialities from the fields – oatcakes, neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes) – and followed up with delectable desserts that include delicious Dundee fruit cake and melt-in-the-mouth shortbreads.
There's nothing quite like a hearty Highland breakfast, especially when it's served aboard The Royal Scotsman train. Succulent kippers, potato scones and a steaming bowl of porridge get the day off to a warming start. Admire the picturesque surroundings as you take lunch. A bowl of lightly steamed mussels by a romantic harbour or vegetable-rich Scotch broth in a cosy inn are the perfect preparation for a whisky-tasting session or exploring an ancient castle with the laird. Aboard the train, a lunch might start with lightly seared salmon, in preparation for the wicked sticky toffee pudding to come. Dishes are served as the train passes the dramatic landscapes that supply them: fields of barley, open seas with fishing boats, streams tumbling down from misty mountains.
As evening falls, the train's grand formal dinner is a highlight of any journey. Guests are invited to dress the part and are welcomed to the bar and dining cars where they can enjoy an aperitif. Once seated at softly lit tables, the menu might begin with a warm pigeon salad accompanied by blackcurrant dressing, continue with spiced roast halibut and conclude with vanilla apple mousse. For while the ingredients of Scottish cooking are wholesome, fresh-from-the-fields produce, the ways in which they are prepared are as innovative as one would expect of a nation long accustomed to welcoming visitors to its shores. | | |
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Sample Menu Selection
Lunch
Chicken and langoustine salad
with baby squash and
queen scallops
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Bitter chocolate tart
with kumquat marmalade
Dinner
Seared scallops with sauce vierge
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Roast loin of lamb with
wild mushrooms and
truffle risotto
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Iced hazelnut parfait
with raspberry coulis | | |
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