Jeff cooked Braised Butternut Squash with Tuna and Coriander, followed by some indulgent but delectable French Toast with Caramel Sauce. You can find these recipes here.

Some of Jeff’s top tips included:

  • Eat seasonal local vegetables (bell peppers in February, in Scotland, do not taste half as good as the seasonal ones);
  •  If you’re using butter, use salted butter;
  • Cook caramel slowly over a low heat;
  • Put a cloth under your board to prevent it from sliding;
  • Buy fresh herbs whenever you can.

The butternut squash dish was served with and without tuna (for our vegetarian participants). Jeff suggested that the highly seasonal parsnip could offer a good alternative to the tuna fish.

Tuna (and indeed fish in general) can be a controversial cooking choice.  Just this week an article in Science announced that a prawn cocktail can emit as much as 198kg of carbon. If you do choose to eat seafood, the accompanying booklet to this class (which can be downloaded here) offers some guidance on selecting the most ethical fish.

For more information on the environmental impacts of eating fish check out the following:

The Big Fish Fight

Marine Stewardship Council

End of the Line

Both the Big Fish Fight and End of the Line can be accessed through our new Transition University of St Andrews Food play list on Box of Broadcasts (search Transition UStA Food). Click here and use your university sign in name to access.

 

For details of upcoming cooking classes click here.