To a Haggis - a new way with a traditional favourite 1/2

I am a huge fan of haggis.  Many people are a bit squeamish, but it's really just a big, round, peppery lamb sausage, so don't be put off and do try some.  There are also some very good vegetarian versions of the haggis now, if you are not a meat eater.

You can eat haggis at any time of year but there is a huge peak in demand around the 25th January, the birthday of Robert Burns, Scotland's National Bard.  There are Burns Supper celebrations everywhere just now in Scotland and, indeed, all over the world, so why not have a look at Scotland.Org and in particular the Celebrate Scotland pages where you can find out about events happening in Scotland, particularly this year, the Year of Homecoming, 2014.

But back to the haggis!  There are many different ways to use Haggis in your cooking and on Scotland.org you will find some restaurant quality recipes prepared by Jacqueline O'Donnel

Dingwall Haggis Bon Bons


and Vegetarian haggis with hisky glazed turnip pearls, straw potatoes with chive and malt cream sauce


Both recipes look delicious, but do recommend the use of a deep fat fryer which is something I do not have.  However, nothing daunted, I scanned the recipes to see what I could learn and decided that I would try something just a little bit different.

First microwave your haggis, I read the instructions on the back of the haggis, this involving much squinting and removal of my glasses to read the tiny writing.  Normally I would simmer the haggis in water for an hour, but was pleased to see that I could 'deconstruct' the haggis (take all the packing off), slice and cube it and microwave for 9 minutes.  I have a top power model of microwave so it only took 6 minutes to heat it through, brilliant!

Second add cream and whisky to your 'neeps' or turnips (Swede), you know the orange one.

I would usually add butter and black pepper to my turnip and then mash, but this time I added a splash of double cream and a tablespoon of whisky.  Oh my goodness, what a fantastic addition, you couldn't really taste the whisky but the mashed turnip tasted fantastic, sweet and very very moreish.  I will be doing this every time, it was outstanding.


I'll be back later in the week with a way to make one small 2-3 person haggis stretch to feed 6-8 people. In the meantime check out the Address to a Haggis in many and varied languages.

Labels: Burns Night, haggis, mashed potato, Neeps, potato, Scotland, Scottish, swede, Tatties

posted by Janice @ 07:30 6 Comments

Address to a haggis

The annual celebratory tribute to the life, works and spirit of the great Scottish poet, Robert Burns (1759-1796). Celebrated on, or about, the Bard's birthday, January 25th, Burns Suppers range from stentoriously formal gatherings of esthetes and scholars to uproariously informal rave-ups of drunkards and louts. Most Burns Suppers fall in the middle of this range, and adhere, more or less, to some sort of time honoured form which includes the eating of a traditional Scottish meal, the drinking of Scotch whisky, and the recitation of works by, about, and in the spirit of the Bard.
Address to a Haggis
1786

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a' yet tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin was help to mend a mill
In time o'need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin', rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
Bethankit! hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad make her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckles as wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;
His nieve a nit;
Thro' blody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' hands will sned,
Like taps o' trissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer
Gie her a haggis!

source Robert Burns Country

I didn't go to a formal Burns Supper, but we had haggis, neeps (swede known as turnip in Scotland) and champit tatties (mashed potatoes) for our supper tonight.

One or two questions have been asked so I am adding a little to this post.
1. Yes that is a bottle of malt whisky behind the haggis, we didn't have it with the meal but had some after with our coffee.
2. You can find out about what goes into a haggis HERE although personally, I think it is better not to know because it tastes nothing like any of the ingredients, it is peppery and delicious.

Labels: haggis, potato, Robert Burns, swede, whisky

posted by Janice @ 20:34 8 Comments

Bubble & Squeak

Last night supper was definitely a mish mash of left overs. We had some turkey and ham pie left over from New Year's Eve, some onion bahjis from lunch on NYE. I also had some mashed potoato and mashed turnip (swede) left over from the haggis meal we had on New Year's Day so I decided to make it into Bubble & Squeak with the half cabbage I had lurking in the fridge.
It is usually made with left over cabbage, but I made this fresh and then mixed it into the potato/turnip mix. Some butter in the pan on a medium heat and then just bung it all in and press it down. The tricky bit is turning it using a plate, I think it would be wise to lightly oil the plate before inverting the b&s onto it as it does tend to stick. However even if you have to lever it back into the pan like I did, you just squish it down again, it can take quite a lot of abuse!

If you have one of those pans that go in the oven you could do it that way too. I'm getting to the end of the left overs now and have a Carbonnade of Beef in the oven. I can smell the beer as it cooks slowly - mmmmm!

Labels: leftovers, potato, swede, turnip

posted by Janice @ 12:12 6 Comments