This Burns Night, add some Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil to your haggis recipes, you will be amazed how well they go together.
The word ‘Bard’ has become synonymous with the world’s greatest poets, however, few are as celebrated as Scotland’s own ‘National Bard’, Robert Burns, who we pay tribute to on 25 January each year.
Burns Night is a time to enjoy Scottish traditions and celebrate the renowned poet Robert Burns with a classic combination of haggis, neeps, tatties, some reciting of poetry, and maybe even a warming dram or two!
What is haggis?
Haggis is Scotland’s national dish that has a meaty, peppery taste which goes perfectly with the peppery sensation that comes with a high-quality extra virgin olive oil like Morocco Gold.
It is made by adding oats, suet, onion and herbs to the minced lungs, liver and heart of a sheep. The mix is then seasoned with spices like pepper and nutmeg and traditionally packed into a sheep’s stomach to be cooked.
It’s at this point haggis can lose potential fans who are put off by its ingredients. The dish was created to make sure every part of an animal is used and none goes to waste, especially when times were hard. It’s a humble dish that has become a national icon.
If you’re not a meat eater or just plain don’t want to try, then there are now some great veggie/vegan haggis alternatives that aim to recreate the peppery taste of original haggis, and these can be substituted in any of the below haggis recipes.
Haggis Recipe Ideas
So now you have an idea about haggis, what it is and what it tastes like, here are just some of the ways you can enjoy your haggis.
Traditional Haggis Neeps And Tatties
Ingredients
- Use a ready-made haggis
- 8 washed and peeled large potatoes
- 6 tbsp Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil
- 1 peeled swede
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180 fan/gas mark 6
- Chop your potatoes into small cubes, and boil on the hob. Drain them.
- Pour the extra virgin olive oil into a large roasting tin and add the potatoes, making sure they're covered in oil before you put them in the oven for roasting. Roast for about 50 minutes.
- While your potatoes are roasting, cook the swede in boiling water for 50 minutes, until soft. Drain and add to the roasted potatoes.
- Mash everything together, leaving large chunks. Mix in the butter, put back in the oven for another 5 minutes until everything is piping hot
- Heat your haggis 10 minutes before your neeps and tatties are done, to serve at the same time.
Haggis Shepherds Pie
A haggis shepherds pie simply replaces mince with either just haggis or a mix of Scotch lamb mince and haggis. Cook as you would normally and maybe even add a little cheese to your potato topping for a burst of flavour.
Ingredients
- 500g potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 454g traditional haggis, skinned and diced
- 100ml milk, warmed
- 40g butter
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- Grated cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.
- Cook the potatoes in a pan of salted boiling water until tender.
- Meanwhile, gently fry the diced onion and carrot in the extra virgin olive oil until softened.
- Add the haggis and heat together, stirring, until the haggis breaks up.
- Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pan with the warm milk and butter. Mash together, season, then stir in the mustard.
- Spoon the haggis mix into a pie dish, top with the mash and some grated cheese, then bake for about 35-40 minutes, until bubbling hot.
Haggis Burgers
These burgers are really easy to put together. Mix equal parts Aberdeen Angus Beef and haggis together and hand a few tablespoons of grated mature cheddar cheese per burger (optional), form into patties, and then grill on the BBQ or in the oven, or cook in a fry pan. The rich flavour of the haggis perfectly balances the subtle taste of the beef, working together wonderfully. Then adding a yummy bbq sauce, cheese, gherkin, lettuce and tomato may just make the perfect burger!
Ingredients
- 250g Haggis (original or veggie) - 1/2lb
- 250g Minced Beef (bonus for Scotch Beef! Higher fat content gives a juicier burger) - 1/2lb
- 100g grated Mature Cheddar Cheese (or other cheese you like) *optional - 1 Cup
Instructions
- Take a large bowl and mix together all ingredients with clean, damp hands. There's no need to season with extra salt and pepper as the haggis does that bit for you!
- Separate the mixture into six (or less if you want big burgers) and form into round patties. You really need to press the burger patties firmly together to stop them from being too crumbly. *See Notes
- These can be covered and placed in the refrigerator for later or cooked immediately. To cook, either grill on a BBQ or fry in a pan for around 5 minutes on each side over a medium heat, until cooked through.
- The trick is to only turn once one side has browned, to help keep the juices in. *See Notes
- Serve in a bun with your favourite burger toppings (we like lettuce, tomato, and whatever sauces we feel like!).
Haggis Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
These cute vegetarian haggis stuffed mushrooms can serve as a starter or main course - just double up the recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 large flat open Portobello mushrooms
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 75g/2½ oz breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
- 2 tbsp pecorino, grated
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 350g/12 oz vegetarian haggis, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- Place the mushrooms onto a baking sheet and drizzle with a little oil. Cook in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until beginning to soften.
- Mix together the breadcrumbs, pine nuts, pecorino and parsley.
- Remove the mushrooms from under the grill and top each mushroom with a slice of vegetarian haggis.
- Spoon the breadcrumb mixture over the haggis and drizzle with a little more oil.
- Return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is slightly melted and the filling is hot and bubbling.
- Serve one mushroom as a starter or 2-3 with tatties and neeps as a main course.
What does haggis taste like?
Haggis has a very savoury, peppery flavour that is all about the spices and seasoning rather than the meat elements themselves. The haggis’s rustic and almost dry texture that is enhanced by the oats and go perfectly with the obvious meatiness that shines through. And the wholesome and warming after taste is what keeps people coming back for more.
How to cook haggis
Haggis can be enjoyed in the traditional way with ‘neeps’ (turnip) and ‘tatties’ (potatoes), however there are a range of different ways of enjoying this Scottish delicacy. Traditionally it was gently boiled in the skin in a pot on the stove, or it can be wrapped in foil and sat in an oven dish with a little water to bake in the oven. Both of these methods take at least an hour or more dependent on the size of the haggis.
