West Scotland James Martin's Food Map of Britain

My two passions are flying and food.

It's from up here you really get to appreciate the unique landscape

that produces the food that I love to cook.

So I'm taking to the skies

to show you how this land has influenced our larders.

On my journey around the UK,

I'll be meeting the people that work this ever-changing landscape,

revealing how this terrain

has served up some of the country's best regional ingredients.

It tastes so good.

Also, I'll be sharing some great recipes that showcase this amazing land,

that put such great food on our tables.

Today, I'm heading to the west coast of Scotland.

For its size, Scotland has some of the most varied natural landscape

of any country on the planet.

From the stunning coastlines...

..majestic mountains...

..and breath-taking lochs...

..this diverse and wild landscape,

although notoriously difficult to farm,

produces some of the finest food in Britain.

The clear-running streams

are home to world-class wild Scottish salmon.

The pure spring waters

produce some of the world's finest whisky.

And the heather-clad moors

provide the best environment for wild game to thrive.

Scotland is a true feast for aviators' eyes.

This has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, in my opinion.

It's just spectacular.

But this wild environment is home to one of my favourite foods.

It's the Scottish langoustine.

To find this amazing food, I'm heading north

to one of Scotland's greatest jewels -

Loch Fyne.

The fresh tidal seawater

and the shelter from the surrounding hillsides

create nutrient-rich, calm, muddy loch beds,

the ideal habitat for langoustine to thrive.

Creel fisherman Alistair Sinclair has taken advantage of this incredible landscape.

The loch is on his doorstep

and he's been fishing for langoustine here for 25 years.

I've resisted using that word "langoustine" for years!

It's a prawn! It's a west coast prawn!

You know, call it prawn or langoustine, I don't care,

as long as you enjoy the eating, enjoy the experience.

And these strange little creatures really are beyond measure when it comes to flavour.

The Scottish langoustine will never be beaten.

The species that we have on the west coast

is far better than anything on earth that is available,

and that's because of the pristine waters from where they come.

Fishing this beautiful loch is hard work

and it takes patience and perseverance,

but for Alistair, this is more than just a job.

You couldn't do this if you didn't love doing it,

absolutely not.

It's part of this tapestry, you know,

and it's a very rich tapestry that we have in Scotland.

No, I couldn't imagine life without fishing.

No, no.

I used to visit here as a kid, and I was introduced

to some of the most famous food from around these parts.

Langoustine is one of the best ingredients in the world,

and one ingredient that we don't use enough or eat enough in the UK.

But that's why I'm here today,

to try and show you why

we should all be eating this incredible shellfish.

I'm jumping aboard Alistair's pride and joy

to do a spot of fishing.

That's a nice prawn, James.

So, why Loch Fyne, then? Why this area for langoustines like this?

What makes it so special?

It's not just Loch Fyne, it's all the west coast sea lochs, all the way up.

We're blessed with the Gulf Stream.

The Gulf Stream feeds the water with lots of nutrients and it enriches the water.

I think that's one of the things that's been the building block for such a healthy environment.

The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world.

It flows in from the North Atlantic,

up the west coast of the British Isles,

bringing with it warmth

and additional nutrients to the waters.

This produces some of the finest and most productive fishing grounds in the world.

Even with such pristine waters,

Alistair is still careful not to over-fish.

Swimming crab, hermit crab,

shore crab...

..green crab...

There's never one comes up the same! It's like a lucky bag when you were a kid.

"What am I getting in this?" That's kind of what fishing's like.

There's no guarantees you're going to get the good prize.

But with over 1,000 creels in the loch,

he still hopes to catch around 30 to 40 kilos of langoustine a day.

How long do the pots have to be down before you bring them back up?

-We generally give them a 24-hour soak.

-Right.

-If the fishing's poor, you can soak them for two or three days.

-Two or three days!

This seems quite labour-intensive, because a lot of the langoustines that you see

-have been dredged, sadly.

-Yes.

This is the way for you to keep maintaining the stocks?

-This is the way ahead.

-Yes.

-This has got to be the way ahead.

We don't have a great negative impact on the seabed.

-We're not dragging the seabed, we're not destroying habitat.

-Yes.

We're literally plucking the creel from the seabed.

You've been the kiss of death since you came and stood beside me!

-Eh?

-You've been the kiss of death! They've went off!

-We've got one in about four pots!

-They probably heard you're here!

-You're blaming me!

-They probably know they're going to be cooked shortly!

-THEY LAUGH

-Can I take this one, then?

-You can have that one.

-I can have this one.

For a chef, this is the ultimate, ultimate ingredient,

certainly for me.

I mean, look at that prawn.

Just beautiful! Absolutely beautiful thing.

There's something prehistoric about this thing.

One of the great things about this journey is that,

what I've found is, the best place to fly over, for me,

has got the best food on my trip.

These creatures may be odd-looking,

but they really are world-class ingredients,

to rival any other.

Today, I'm going to use the whole langoustine.

It really is far too good to waste.

I'm doing two dishes -

a twist on an old pub favourite, scampi,

and a tasty langoustine soup.

The first thing I'm going to do is take the meat out of the tail.

It's actually quite straightforward. All you do is peel the tail off,

crack the tail in half like that and then just peel it.

Be really careful when you peel it because these edges are quite sharp.

You really don't want to waste anything with this.

We're going to utilise these shells, as well.

Save the tail meat for the scampi,

but you can use the rest of the langoustines for the soup.

First you need to make the base, which consists of butter, shallots,

some chopped garlic, tomato puree and carrots.

After a couple of minutes' cooking, you can add the main ingredient.

There's plenty of meat in these claws here,

but really, the flavour is what's inside here.

We can use all that to make this soup.

You can make this with langoustine shells, lobster,

so you don't waste anything.

We're going to use a touch of brandy.

I've got in here some fish stock, or you can use chicken stock.

Cover the shells about halfway,

add a little bit of double cream to this.

That's it, really. You don't eat it, of course, like this, but that's the basis of this soup.

It's really, really quick.

While the soup simmers for three to four minutes,

it's time to make a very special batter for the scampi.

This batter is fantastic

because this is a vodka-and-tonic batter.

Start with the not-so-unusual plain flour, sugar,

salt and then yeast.

This is the real key to it. This is dried yeast.

You can actually get fresh yeast nowadays.

Give it a little whisk, before adding the special ingredients

and the batter mix will take on a whole new form.

We add some vodka.

As soon as the vodka hits that deep-fryer,

it just explodes and crisps up the batter. It's fantastic.

We're going to use some tonic.

It almost foams up and fizzes.

If we mix it enough and leave it for a little bit,

that yeast will start to warm up and create this lovely light batter.

If we leave that to one side,

we're then ready to finish off our soup.

Pour the shells and the whole lot...

..into our blender.

This is by far the quickest way to harness that delicate yet intense flavour

that's hidden in the claws and the body of the shellfish.

Put the lid on,

turn it on.

You can leave that blending now for about a minute.

I'm just going to go and wash up this pan.

Fresh langoustine has a sophisticated sweetness that is lost when frozen,

but by plucking them straight from the loch today,

my soup should have a real depth of flavour.

Once blended, it will need sieving through a fine mesh to remove all traces of shells,

leaving behind only the smooth, creamy pureed soup.

Finally, what we're going to do to finish it off

is put it back on the heat

and then you can add some black pepper...

..which I might as well do it from over here

because the wind's blowing a hooley.

Black pepper, a pinch of salt...

See, people think this is quite glamorous.

It is actually really hard work, so you better appreciate this and have a go at home.

Different finger.

And then look at this...

We've got our...

..bowl.

We're then just going to garnish it, of course, with a little bit of spring onion...

..and a crouton.

Lovely! It's just what you need.

Look at that. Delicious.

And then we've got all of our tail meat, as well.

We've got our lovely batter here.

This scampi is super quick to cook,

and it needs to be, otherwise my soup is going to get cold.

What we need to do is deep-fry these lovely langoustine

and, together with that, deep-fry these fantastic mussels,

which just come from a little bit up the way in the loch there.

So hot oil...

..and we deep-fry the langoustines.

As soon as they're golden and crispy, remove them from the oil.

All that's left for me to make now is a simple dressing,

which will really bring this dish to life.

To make our little sauce to go with this,

we've got a bit of mayonnaise, this sweet chilli jam,

and this stuff I love!

This is yuzu juice. You can buy it, as my mother calls it, off t'internet.

It's a cross between a lime and a mandarin.

It's a fantastic ingredient. It's brilliant.

You just use a little bit of it.

You could use a little bit of mandarin juice and lime if you can't get hold of it.

And then I pop this lot on our board.

Just drizzle the dressing over the top.

And then we're just going to finish this off

with some chopped red chilli...

..a little bit of spring onion

and then some coriander.

And just sprinkle that over the top.

A little reinvention of the classic '70s,

where you've got scampi but in a vodka-and-tonic batter, and a simple soup.

I'm going to call that a Scottish crouton.

Cooking out in the elements that have produced this food

really connects you with the environment.

You can't get fresher than these langoustines,

harvested from these clear waters.

These dishes embody all the flavours

of this pure and natural environment.

As I leave behind the beautiful and rich waters of Loch Fyne,

it's time to head into the rugged landscape

of the Scottish mountains and glens.

This environment isn't natural farming land

and very little thrives here,

but what does makes for some of the most delicious food available.

The venison from these parts is mouth-watering,

with a depth of flavour rivalled by none.

But for the animal I'm here to see,

the wild landscape of Glen Fyne is God's own country.

If there's one animal

that epitomises really what Scotland is all about,

it's stood the test of time, and the meat that it produces

is like nothing else you'll ever taste.

And incredibly, for centuries, the hardy, hairy Highland cow

has survived in the harsh conditions of this mountainous terrain,

turning rough grassland into some of the most succulent meat on the market.

Tuggy Delap, a local lass who was brought up in this fabulous landscape,

fell in love with these wonderful beasts as a child.

I've had Highland cows all my life.

My father's idea of giving us all pocket money

was to give us a Highland calf.

And then it grew up and it kept having calves,

and every year we'd sell the calf and get a nice lot of money, so it was very good.

£25 you got for a calf, if you were lucky.

But these are more than just cash cows for Tuggy.

She's got a real close bond with her breeding herd of 26 cows and one bull,

and they're all named.

This is Hilary and Hilary is so greedy.

And this one is Oriel.

I wouldn't want to have any other breed. I just love these ones.

They have a great life here.

They're not exactly what you might call factory-farmed,

which is nice to see.

The Highland cows and the Highlands

were made for each other.

I'm going to meet Tuggy at feeding time,

and with 4.5 acres for these fine beasts to roam in,

she may need some help.

-Hi there, Tuggy.

-Hello, James.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to see you.

I'm looking forward to this.

-Well, I hope they're going to behave themselves and be cooperative!

-You reckon!

-What do they say - never work with children and animals!

-Is that what they say? Yes!

Tuggy also runs a brewery on the farm

and the steak-and-ale businesses work in perfect harmony.

-Fabulous - feeding time! They know we're here.

-They definitely know we're here!

Hello, girls!

Look at this, then! What's this?

-What are we feeding them?

-We're feeding them draff from the brewery,

-which is the spent grain after we've made the beer from it.

-Right.

They absolutely love this stuff. They say that they don't eat a lot,

-but that's before we had ours!

-OK!

Ours will eat as much as the boys can brew.

-They're happy to roam on the grasses here?

-Yes. And they normally will eat grass all summer.

We feed them straw in the winter and this.

There are places that don't feed them at all in the winter,

but you need to have a lot of good rough ground where they'll get grazing.

Grazing-wise, I mean, we're feeding them this stuff now...

COW MOOS LOUDLY Hey!

Nearly got caught then!

They're quite nimble on their feet!

We've not got bad weather today,

-but I'm assuming this can get pretty harsh out here.

-Yes.

We had 144 inches of rain last year and the cows still produced calves at the end of it.

I suppose because of the wet,

literally, they'll go further up to get away from the bogland.

They do.

You see Highland cows that are much bigger than ours,

but when you have a large rainfall and rather muddy ground,

you don't want to have anything that's too heavy

or it disappears up to the parts that matter.

In these parts of Scotland, the weather gets bitingly cold

and can be really treacherous.

So you'd think that in order to survive here, the cattle would need plenty of fat

to insulate them against these harsh conditions.

But that's not the case. Instead, they've evolved a double coat to keep them warm.

This is the secret to their great, lean, delicious meat.

How far do you take these? Because normal cattle, for beef, it's about 24 months.

No, these take longer to mature.

That's why we get a slightly, well, we think slightly superior beef.

We take ours to about 36, 38 months ideally.

But it's worth waiting for something that tastes really good.

As regards to cooking - I don't like to talk about it with these horns flying around me -

what's your favourite? Because the meat is unique, I always think, with Highlands.

It's got a slight, almost a game sort of flavour to it, hasn't it?

And it's been matured that much longer

because the animal is that much older.

All the beef out of the supermarket

-is all 24 months old...

-Yes.

-..and doesn't have any flavour.

It is the marbling that really sets this apart

-and makes it unique, I always think.

-I think so.

As beef goes, it's a splendidly... I think it's a very healthy meat.

You don't have that tremendous layer of fat that you get on other meats,

but you get, as you said, the wonderful marbling through it.

It's great to use because it stays lovely and moist.

-He looks a big fella.

-This is the bull - Callum.

-How old is Callum?

-Callum is four this year.

He seems to be following the ladies around in a happy fashion

so I hope he's going to produce us 100 percent calving next year.

And he's quite placid.

As long as he's got something to be keeping him quiet,

he's got no reason to argue with you, so he won't argue.

He's much more interested in the girl than he is in you.

Callum's getting a little bit too close for me

so I'm going to disappear off over here!

Chicken! THEY LAUGH

In the relative safety away from the herd,

I'm going to try this tasty, unique meat for myself.

Its flavour embodies the essence of the Highlands,

but I'm going to make something a little unexpected,

a fresh and light barbecued beef salad

with an Oriental twist.

I'm going to use two cuts of meat from this wonderful Highland.

I've got some sirloin here

and a cut of meat that you don't really buy or use that much,

but the T-bone is a fantastic cut because not only does it have this wonderful sirloin on the top,

you've got a nice piece of fillet underneath.

I'm going to barbecue it and serve it with a nice simple salad.

So black pepper first of all.

No salt when we put this on the barbecue. We season it afterwards.

So plenty of black pepper on both sides.

Just a touch of oil.

Just a little drizzle...

..over there.

They never give me easy locations to cook at, you see,

because I'm by a cliff and if I stand like that, look...

See what I mean? But you get to enjoy the nice view.

I'm perched on a cliff edge here.

What we're going to do now is just cook our nice bit of steak onto our barbecue.

This'll only take probably five minutes.

Don't overcook it.

Like that. Just five minutes,

probably a couple of minutes each side.

That'll be brought back washed up in a minute.

So now we're going to make our dressing.

For that, I need some garlic.

This is sort of Oriental in sort of a dressing,

but it goes brilliantly with beef...

..or chicken. It's a fantastic salad, this.

But we just chop up some garlic first of all,

put it into a little pestle and mortar with some chilli.

I don't know why people take the seeds out of a chilli.

Just chuck the seeds straight in.

Now I'm going to use some palm sugar

and put a little bit in there...

..some salt...

..and then grind this down,

just for a couple of minutes.

You get almost like a lovely paste out of it.

Don't overcook the meat...

..really with this.

Turn that one over.

Once you've ground that down a little bit, we can add some mint

and coriander.

We basically just rip this up and grind this down, as well.

This meat, I'm going to take off now because that's ready.

The crew did ask me how they could tell whether a steak's been cooked properly or not.

The secret of it is, hold your finger and thumb together like that,

press this part here, press the top of the meat,

if it's the same texture, that's rare.

Go to your next finger, medium rare.

This one, medium. This one's knackered.

Whilst the meat is resting, finish off the dressing

by adding fish sauce, soy sauce, oil

and the zest and juice of a lime

to give the salad a real Thai flavour.

Give this a quick mix...

Mm!

Delicious! And then in our salad,

I've got a little bowl here,

I'm going to use this.

I kind of was out in the garden back home the other day

and thought how fantastic butterhead lettuce is.

People don't really use it nowadays but it tastes delicious.

What we're going to do is just cut this into pieces,

just decent-size chunks, like that.

It is fabulous.

A little bit of sugar snap peas

we're going to put in, as well.

A few bits... And then some radishes.

I love radishes.

If you grow these at home, they're so much better

than the stuff you get in the supermarkets.

They're full of pepper, full of moisture, as well, more than anything.

A few bits more of this mint

and coriander.

One eye to make sure that bull's not around...

Look at that. And then you've got this dressing.

Just pour this dressing over the top...

..like that.

And then you can grab your beef.

This is your lovely sirloin.

Nicely cooked.

What we can do is just pop the beef...

..in and over the top.

It's a lovely dish of a sirloin of Highland beef,

the best beef in the world, in my opinion,

with a lovely little Oriental salad.

If you're wondering why I've cooked this, this is for me.

This simple but delicious dish

captures the flavours of this unique environment.

The succulent meat oozes gamey flavour

and it's set off brilliantly

by the sharp and zesty freshness of the Thai salad.

It's totally unique. There's nothing else like it.

It sounds ridiculous, but it's quite chewy,

but that's how it should be, it's flavour.

It's not bred, like many things nowadays, to do the 100-metre hurdles.

It's bred to live in this environment.

And because of that, you get much better quality meat,

much better taste.

It is so good, I cannot tell you.

I could eat the whole lot.

How many calories in a T-bone steak?

The produce found here in the west of Scotland is some of the best in Britain.

The beef and the langoustine are so different in flavour,

but both shout of the purity of this staggeringly rugged environment.

The story of this region's food is a tale of how man has managed this wilderness

to gather the bounty of its wild produce.

Join me next time, as I discover more food wonders

of this fantastic island.

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