Haggis (Scottish)

The national dish of Scotland is Haggis. It is a wonderful, tasty dish which uses sheep's offal (the bits nowadays often discarded; lungs, hearts, liver). The cooked minced offal is mixed with suet, oatmeal, seasoning and encased in the sheep's stomach. Once stitched up, the stuffed stomach is boiled for up to three hours. If the thought of cooking the animal parts is off-putting, there are commercial haggis available, the best known (including a vegetarian version) from Charles MacSween & Son in Edinburgh. The Haggis was immortalised by the poet Robert Burns in his Address to the Haggis in the 18th century and celebrated in Scotland and throughout the world on Burns Night, January 25th, in memory of the Scottish poet. It is eaten with Tatties (mashed potatoes) and Neeps (turnip or swede) alongside other Scottish favorites Cock-a-Leekie (vegetable) Soup and Crannachan, a dessert made from raspberry, toasted oatmeal and cream. Made properly, it is a tasty, wholesome dish, with every chef creating his or her own recipe to get the flavour and texture (dry or moist) that suits them. Personally, I like a haggis which is spicy from pepper and herbs, with a lingering flavour on the palate after it has been consumed.

sheep's heart, lungs and liver (cleaned by a butcher)
1 beef bung
3 cups suet, finely chopped
1 cup medium ground oatmeal
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 cup beef stock
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. ground mace

To Serve:
Champit Tatties
Bashit Neeps

Piping of the Haggis at a Burns Supper Trim off any excess fat and sinew from the sheep's intestine and, if present, discard the windpipe. Place in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for an hour or possibly longer to ensure that they are all tender. Drain and cool.

Some chefs toast the oatmeal in an oven until it is thoroughly dried out (but not browned or burnt).

Finely chop the meat and combine in a large bowl with the suet, oatmeal, finely chopped onions, beef stock, salt, pepper, nutmeg and mace. Make sure the ingredients are mixed well. Stuff the meat and spices mixture into the beef bung which should be over half full. Then press out the air and tie the open ends tightly with string. Make sure that you leave room for the mixture to expand or else it may burst while cooking. If it looks as though it may do that, prick with a sharp needle to reduce the pressure.

Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and immediately reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for three hours. Avoid boiling vigorously to avoid bursting the skin.

Serve hot with "champit tatties and bashit neeps" (mashed/creamed potato and turnip/swede).

Cook's Notes:

• For added flavour, you can add some nutmeg to the potatoes and allspice to the turnip/swede.
• Some people like to pour a little whisky over their haggis - Drambuie is even better. Don't go overboard on this or you'll make the haggis cold.
• At Burns Suppers, the haggis is traditionally piped in and Burns' "Address to the Haggis" recited over it.