Charming and quaint as these recipe booklets are with their reproduced artwork and simplified one page recipes, an easy tourist attraction on a turnstile memento, they do offer up some wonderful traditional sample recipes to dive into. Just under fifty pages and approximately seventy-five titles available in the series making them a holiday token to gather and share. I have collected quite a few of these over the years. I know they may seem kitschy however I do seek them out and adore them all the same as a keepsake of my travels and I do reference and enjoy trying the recipes when possible.
The recipe, Collops of Beef, is from the Favourite Scottish Recipes booklet and is traditionally served on Burns Night, January 25th.
Collops of Beef
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Serves 4
1 1/2 lb. piece of braising steak, sliced into 4
1 onion, chopped
6 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons flour
2 oz. butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
Bay leaf (optional)
3/4 pint beef stock
Set oven to 350ºF (180ºC) or Mark 4.
Mix the flour with the salt and pepper. Coat the beef slices with seasoned flour. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Fry the collops for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside. Gently fry the onion and the mushrooms. Put the onion and mushrooms and a bayleaf (if desired) into the casserole. Lay the collops on top. Pour in the stock, cover and cook for 1 and 1/2 hours. Serve with buttered mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. Rowan or red currant jelly goes well with this dish.