An Italian Scottish fusion to celebrate our national Bard, Robert Burns. Haggis, and Neeps combine in a creamy whisky sauce but the traditional mashed tatties are swapped out for Gnocchi - Italian Potato Dumplings.
I can't believe we've got to Burns night and I've not yet posted a Haggis recipe. I'm disappointed in myself. I had three in planning for this year to add to my top 10 haggis recipes for Burns night, but I'm not sure I'm even going to get around to publishing the other two. (Although in my book Haggis is most definitely for life and not just for Burns Night)
Gnocchi - pronounced N(Y)OK-ee - are one of my daughter's favourite foods but lots of people don't seem to know of them and what they are. A good description would perhaps be 'thick, small and soft dough dumplings of Italian origin made of potato and flour, cooked and eaten in much the same way as pasta'
Haggis are of course small four legged creatures that live in the Highlands. They have two legs shorter than the others so they can run around the mountains without toppling over. Catch one yourself by chasing it the opposite way round the mountain or buy a free range one from your butcher.
Scottish Neeps are Turnips, but not wee white new Turnips but rather the large purple skinned yellow/orange Swede.
Tatties are potatoes and must be of the mashed variety.
Haggis, neeps and tatties are the holy trilogy when it comes to Burns night. Add in a dram of Whisky and you've got the full monty. So how about mixing things up a bit and swapping the tatties for gnocchi and mixing the whisky in with the neeps?
Whisky Neeps are an awesome dish that takes the humble swede to a whole new level. Buttery, sugary, sticky and sweet. You will never go back to mashed neeps once you have tried them. They are also an integral part of our Christmas dinner! I must admit that I don't actually weigh and measure the quantities when I make them so fee free to be heavy handed when it comes to how big a dram you add. I'm sure the bard would approve.
Haggis, Neeps and Gnocchi in a Whisky Cream Sauce
500g Neeps (swede), cubed
50g Butter
50g Demerara Sugar
50ml Whisky
Salt & Pepper
600g Gnocchi
450g Haggis (traditional or vegetarian)
300ml Double Cream
Place the cubed neep in a pan with the butter, sugar, whisky and enough boiling water to barely cover.
Bring to the boil and cook uncovered over a high heat until the neep is tender and the water has evaporated to leave a buttery glaze. This will take around 30 minutes.
Season well with salt & pepper.
Menwhile cook the gnocchi according to the pack instructions and drain.
Remove the haggis from it's skin and heat according to the packaging instructions.
Stir the gnocchi into the pan of cooked neeps, add the double cream and heat through.
Tip in the haggis and gently combine.
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