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RECIPE: Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

Haggis, neeps and tatties is Scotland’s national dish. Haggis doesn’t sound very inviting: it is comprised of the heart, lungs and liver of a sheep, all ground up together, mixed with oats and spices, and then boiled inside the stomach of a sheep.  Yes, it is basically boiled offal. But one of the reasons haggis is a great dish as that it minimises waste by using all parts of the animal. It is surprisingly delicious.

Neeps and tatties are something of a mystery until you learn that they are the root vegetables turnips (actually swede) and potatoes. These are boiled and mashed and served alongside the haggis.

Vegetarian haggis is also widely available in Scotland and elsewhere, if you really don’t fancy boiled offal.

Haggis Neeps and Tatties Recipe 

Ingredients

1 haggis
2-3 potatoes per person
1 swede
lots of butter
salt and pepper

Method

It is possible to make a haggis from scratch but it is far more convenient to buy one. A good butcher will be able to supply a quality haggis. They freeze very well and can also be cooked from frozen.

There are many ways to cook a haggis but the easiest is to boil. Remove the plastic wrapping but leave the skin intact and place into a pan of boiling water. Simmer gently – it needs to be cooked slowly to ensure that the skin doesn’t burst. Timing depends on the size of the haggis – a 1kg haggis should cook in just over an hour. Add about 20 minutes to the time if cooking from frozen.

Haggis Neeps and Tatties Recipe

Separately, peel and dice the swede and then the potatoes. Boil until tender.

Separately, mash the swede and potatoes. Add loads of butter. There is an unwritten rule in cooking that the flavour of your mash is directly proportional to the amount of butter you add. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Haggis Neeps and Tatties Recipe

Remove the haggis from its casing – just slit along the length. Use a spoon to scoop out the meat.

Haggis Neeps and Tatties Recipe

Then serve. It’s a very down-to-earth and honest dish, it doesn’t require any pretentious garnish. You could go all “Close Encounters” and shape the mashed potato into a mountain but your food would go cold if you did that. Slap it on a plate and enjoy…

Haggis Neeps and Tatties Recipe

…preferably with a wee dram (a shot of Scotch whisky), of course.

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