This week was the intriguing On The Side by Ed Smith. On The Side is a book of side dishes. We decided to try Roast Venison for Sunday lunch and there was a suggestion that Green Pearl Barley and a Beetroot Gratin would be good accompaniments. They were!! The Green Pearl Barley was green because of a mixture of carrot, onion and kale blitzed in the blender mixed with olive oil, butter and parmesan and stirred into the pearl barley. It was really delicious. Along-side it was the beetroot gratin. Think Dauphinoise with pink candy beetroot and golden beetroot. This too was lovely and complemented the venison perfectly. We also had some haggis in preparation for Burns night so we used the book to make Nutmeg Neeps – think mashed swede with butter, black pepper and nutmeg. We did Colcannon (an Irish classic so not exactly Scottish) using kale. The two sides were brilliant with the Haggis.