Macaroni Pies and Rowies. Aberdeen, Scotland

April 2021

Before I set off for Scotland, a friend told me that under no circumstance could I leave until I'd tried a Macaroni.  Being a big fan of macaroni cheese, I happily accepted this challenge.  My main issue was finding one.  Although they are widespread, they're not the kind of item to frequent the shelves of the kind of sourdough bakeries and coffee micro roasteries that I gravitate towards.  What I needed was one of those traditional, family run since 1964 bakeries full of sandwich loaves and iced buns.  Fortunately there are plenty dotted around the streets of Aberdeen, including Thain's which is rumoured to be open 24/7 for all those mid-night pie cravings.



It was exactly as expected - gooey, stodgy macaroni cheese in a pastry case which seemed to serve no purpose other than to make it holdable.  I decided I couldn't leave without sampling another Aberdeen essential - the buttery, or rowie.  Described as a savoury roll, it lives up to it's name and has a high butter content making it more akin to a not very good, flat croissant, and legend has it that they were invented to provide the fisherman with a good source of energy.  Would I have one again? Probably not. But toasted and with jam it was perfectly palatable and definitely something that has to be tried on any trip to Aberdeen.



Find Thain's bakery on George Street.  They also do Stovies pies - a traditional meat and potato dish in a pie.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fish Butty. Freshwater West, Wales

Image
September 2020 In the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a beautiful long sandy beach and top surf spot.   Just up above the beach, there is a colourful little boat, serving up delicious, unusual and fresh from sea to plate fare.   Why not give weekend brunch a coastal twist with a fish butty?   Freshly caught each day, the fish could be anything from mackerel to plaice to coley.   But whatever the sea lucky dip offers up, it’s sure to be the freshest fish pan fried to order and served in a bun with the famous KelpChup (a ketchup type condiment made from locally foraged seaweed), homemade pickles and seaweed chilli sauce.   Then take a stroll down to the rocks to eat whilst being serenaded by the crashing waves, or get the wind in your hair as you walk across the cliff tops and explore the seaweed drying hut. Find Café Mor in the car park at Freshwater West beach.   They also serve bacon butties, meat and veggie black bean burgers, and crab and lobster ...
Read more

Coffee. Bologna, Italy

Image
October 2021 Despite Italy's reputation for excellent coffee, being a flat white sort of a girl, I'm generally not taken with Italian coffee, finding espressos too intense and cappuccinos too weak and frothy.  Pappare, in Bologna's historic centre, did come up trumps with an excellent cappuccino though.  Not only that, the display of croissants was particularly exciting, with white and dark chocolate stuffed charcoal croissants balanced by the nuttiness of sesame, alongside pistachio cream, and vegan dark chocolate and raspberry.  And there was definitely no shortage of filling.  One might be forgiven for thinking there was too much chocolate ganache stuffed in to my croissant as every bite caused another blob too ooze out, but really, can there ever be too much filling?!  They also offer hand brew coffee, as well as savoury pastries, sandwiches, and more substantial brunch/ lunch. Find Pappare on Via De' Giudei. Another coffee that really has to be tried once b...
Read more

Fesenjoon

Image
June 2020 I am a complete convert to pomegranate molasses.  Always one to substitute ingredients for what I have in store, on first glance at this recipe sent to me by a friend, my immediate reaction was pomegranate molasses?! Definite substitution.  However coincidentally, later that day, another recipe caught my eye in a magazine and scanning through the ingredients, I noticed that too called for pomegranate molasses.  It seemed this was something I needed to invest in. And I'm so glad I did! This Iranian dish is typically eaten of the longest night of the year to celebrate the coming of winter, so I was a full 6 months out.  But it sounded so delicious, there was no way I could wait another 6 months to try it.   Fesenjoon is made from 3 main ingredients - walnuts, chicken and pomegranate.  Ground walnuts are boiled for 2 hours before any other ingredient is added, eventually thickening to the texture of an Indian curry sauce and giving a ric...
Read more