It's that time of year again; an evening to celebrate the life and work of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Whether your love is like a red, red rose or not, who's going to say no to an excuse for some haggis and celebrations? Follow our recipe to make sure your best laid plans o' mice and men are in place for your evening meal. This Scottish variation on a traditional cottage pie shows that Burns' influence extends to adapting evening meals, and is by no means restricted to poetry.
Recipe credit: Craft & Harbour (www.craftandharbour.com)
Ingredients
- 1 good butcher's haggis
- 6 medium potatoes
- 1 large turnip
- 6 oz butter
- 6oz Scottish cheddar
- 50ml cream
- Salt
- Pepper
Method
Peel the potatoes and place in a pan with salted water, bring to the boil then simmer until soft (test with a fork). Drain well, add 3oz (half) the butter and the cream, mash until smooth.
Peel and finely chop the turnip, place into a pan with salted water, bring to the boil then simmer until soft (test with a fork). Drain well, add remainder of the butter, mash until smooth.
Cook your haggis according to pack instructions. If you buy yours from a butcher then we usually find a 500g haggis bakes in the oven in around 1 hour. Simply wrap in foil, and pop into an oven, pre-heated to 180C for an hour.
Soften with a fork.
Place all the haggis into the base of an oven dish spreading it out evenly, carefully layer the neeps on top.
For the next layer, smooth on top your creamed mashed potatoes and top off evenly with the grated Scottish cheese.
Bake for twenty to twenty five minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180f or until golden brown.
Serve with good crusty bread and a whisky sauce.
