This lovely old Meat Roll recipe from Aberdeen is one of my fave picnic foods in the Summer months. As the weather gets cooler though you can also enjoy this delicious meat roll hot served with a good helping of cosy root vegetables. I have tried to create my favourite variety in this recipe for Apple and Cheese its so delicious.
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Carrot Cake Loaf
The weather has been a lot cooler this last week and we have been cooking up a variety of warming recipes. This carrot cake loaf is packed with all the flavours of the season ahead. Freshly grated carrots, moist sponge but not too oily and a good dose of cinnamon and mixed spice. The kitchen cooking smells were amazing and it counts as one of your five a day right?
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Stockan’s Scottish Oatcake Recipes
In this post you will find two delicious recipes using the NEW oatcakes from Stockan’s. I’ll be making a lovely haggis and vegetable pie with a cheesy crust and a Scottish oatcake grazing board. Both of these recipes went down well with the family and are delicious and easy to make.
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Creamy Pea Soup
This creamy Scottish Pea Soup is a lovely family recipe for the rainy Summer months. This creamy Summer’s Pea Soup is made with fresh garden peas, bacon and cream and can also be topped off with crispy bacon pieces too. Delicious served with crusty bread!
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Blackcurrant Fruit Leather Recipe
My kids love fruit leather and this blackcurrant fruit leather recipe is right up there with one of our faves! The fruit leathers make awesome picnic snacks and travel really well. They last forever (if the kids don’t eat them that is) and still hold some nutrition too.
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Upside Down Rhubarb and Almond Cake
This delicious Upside Down Rhubarb and Almond Cake is lovely and moist and is a lovely family treat in the Spring and Summer months. Stewed rhubarb tops the almond cake and a slice works really well with custard or double cream. It’s the perfect recipe for late Spring or early Summer and a lovely seasonal addition to the picnic basket.
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The Granite Smoke Chicken BBQ Recipe
Hey everyone! Looks like we are having a final blast of the lovely Summer weather this week! I’ll say yes to that! So why not try this delicious BBQ chicken recipe before the lovely weather ends. Its a delicious and easy recipe that was given to me by The Granite Smoke on Instagram.
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Simon Howie Loaded Dogs
These delicious loaded BBQ hot dogs are perfect for feeding the family throughout the Summer months and are perfect to squeeze into a wee BBQ before we head into the colder weather. There are three ideas for the loaded dogs below but you can mix and match your favourite ingredients to create your own combination.
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Baked Crab & Lobster Salad – Ethical Shellfish Company
We loved cooking up these delicious recipes using a freshly caught Scottish crab and lobster from The Ethical Shellfish company who dive fish around the Mull area in Scotland. Their ethos is simple but beautiful – “We will pick the apples without trampling the flowers beneath”.
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Smoked Salmon Summer Salad & Oat Bannocks
These lovely traditional Scottish Oat Drop Bannocks went really well with the fresh seasonal Summer salad vegetables, crowdie cheese and award winning Smoked Salmon from John Ross in Aberdeen.

This delicious recipe is part of my food tour around Aberdeen and showcases the delicious melt in the mouth award winning Smoked Salmon from John Ross. The salad was freshly picked from a friends market garden and contains a variety of seasonal ingredients grown in Aberdeenshire and the traditional Scottish oat bannocks are based on a simple traditional Scottish recipe using oatmeal. It really is a delicious combination for any garden lunch, dinner or BBQ nibble board.

The salad is also drizzled with my very simple mustard and honey dressing with apple cider vinegar, honey and mustard. I also added some fresh dill from my garden to the top of this salad but you can vary up the herbs and the salad ingredients if you prefer other items, there are loads of options for this recipe. See the section below on tips for making this recipe.
If you like the sound of this lovely smoked salmon salad you may also enjoy serving it alongside some of my other Scottish dishes. I would recommend making the crowdie cheese from scratch using the simple recipe below and how about serving up the delicious Summer strawberry tart to share with all the family. It really is a special treat and no trip to an Aberdonian baker in the Summer months would be complete without a purchase of a box of strawberry tarts for the kids.
Tips for making this recipe:
- You can use a variety of Smoked salmon flavours for this recipe. My favourite is the classic traditional Scottish smoked salmon that John Ross makes but they also have a variety of other salmon packs available. The whisky smoked salmon or the peppered smoked salmon would work really well with the crowdie cheese and bannocks in this recipe.
- You can vary up the garden salad items in this recipe and use whatever you have available in your own garden or from your own area. Check out your local farmers markets if you have in your area for the best seasonal produce or support your local wee market gardens.
- The crowdie cheese is best homemade but you can get it in most supermarkets now. If you can’t find crowdie cheese a simple cream cheese would work well with the bannocks and the salmon so thats always an option for you.
- Make this salad fresh and serve it up as soon as you need it. Its always best to eat salad thats freshly prepared.
- You could also sprinkle over a dash of chilli sauce or chilli flakes if you like a wee kick in your salad.
- If you have leftovers you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge and serve it up in a wrap for a delicious lunch.

Disclaimer *This recipe contains gifted promotional products and paid creative content* (as always all opinions and delicious recipes are my own )
This delicious Scottish salmon salad was made with the lovely award winning and traditionally made Scottish smoked salmon from John Ross in Aberdeen. I used the traditional Smoked Salmon for this recipe which is a melt in your mouth little piece of heaven. The smoked salmon is classically cold smoked in their traditional and historic red brick kilns in the heart of Scotland. It was absolutely delicious and worked really well in this recipe.
We also sampled several other flavours, the delicious whisky infused smoked salmon and the delicious smoked salmon pate. All are avilable on thier online web shop – https://www.johnrossjr.com



John Ross Philosophy – A respect for centuries-old methods, a craft passed down from one generation to the next and a commitment to taking our time. We’ve held these same values since 1857. Our historic brick kilns on the East Coast of Scotland and our time honoured approach will always remain at our heart. – https://www.johnrossjr.com/our-philosophy

They also sell the lovely gravadlax, a variety of smoked fish, fresh fish and fish boxes, smoked and fresh meats and also have a selection of delicious deli items including luxury prawn cocktail and delicious pates. You can find there online shop here: https://www.johnrossjr.com/cat/smoked-salmon
Their smokehouse opened in 1857 and has produced smoked salmon in the traditional way since. Their master smoker hangs the salmon over smoldering fires of oak-chippings. This time-honoured and rare cold smoking method produces the most succulent flavour and tender texture of smoked salmon available today.


Salmon Summer Salad & Oat Bannocks
Ingredients
Scottish Drop Oat Bannocks Ingredients
- 1 Egg Free Range
- 475 ml Whole Milk
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- Ground Oatmeal As much as is required
Salmon Salad Ingredients
- Smoked Salmon Slices Shredded into Smaller Pieces John Ross Traditional Salmon
- Fresh Seasonal Lettuce Shredded
- Chopped & Sliced Salad Items Radishes, Spring Onions, Red Onion, Cucumber etc.
- Fresh Crowdie Cheese Crumbled
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil Extra Virgin
- 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar Organic & Raw (Preferably)
- 1-2 tsp Yellow Mustard
- 1-2 tsp Honey Raw & Organic (preferably)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Chopped Dill Use dried if fresh unavailable
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
Scottish Oat Drop Bannocks
- Beat the egg and stir in together with the milk. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda, salt and enough oatmeal to create a batter that is of a dropable consistency.
- Rub some butter over a hot cast iron pan or other non stick pan. Keep the heat at a medium and drop some batter in to form small rounds. I usually use 2 tbsp per bannock.
- After a few minutes, when bubbles start to form on the top and they are firming up, flip over and cook the other side. I usually cook for about 3 minutes each side.
- When cooked place on a plate and repeat with the others, cover with a dishcloth to keep them warm and serve immediately with the salad, crowdie and salmon recipe below.
Salmon Salad Ingredients
- Half the bannocks or place them whole along one side of a long rectangular plate. Place the shredded lettuce along the centre of the plate and sprinkle the other salad items over the top.
- Add the pieces of smoked salmon along the last free side of the plate and sprinkle over the crowdie cheese over the dish or crumble the crowdie cheese at the side in one area.
- Combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, honey and fresh chopped dill in a small jug and whisk together to create the dressing. You can vary up the quantities to your own flavour tastes.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salmon and the salad items (not the bannocks).
- Serve immediately by heaping the salad, salmon and crowdie onto the warm bannocks.
- Enjoy!
Notes



You may also enjoy some of my other delicious Scottish recipes here: