A dozen of my Haggis Recipes for Burns Night

Fancy something a wee bit different than the traditional Haggis, Neeps and Tatties for your Burns Supper celebrations? I've got you covered with this selection of more than a dozen recipes including Pancakes, Meatloaf, Burgers, Dauphinoise, Gnocchi, Waffles, Birls, Shepherd's Pie, Soup, Scotch Eggs, Toasties and even Chocolate Haggis!

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, 

Great chieftain o' the pudding-race! 

Aboon them a' ye tak your place, 

Painch, tripe, or thairm : 

Weel are ye wordy o'a grace 

As lang's my arm. 

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties TikTok Wrap

Now that's what I call serious Burns! Jumping firmly on the tik tok wrap hack bandwagon with a Haggis, Neeps and Tatties version for Burns Night. Instead of rolling all the fillings up, the tortilla is folded into quarters making a compact triangle shaped wrap where nothing can escape. Genius!

It had to be done. A Scottish version of the wrap hack that's taken TikTok by storm. I used a ready meal but this would work equally well with leftovers. Haggis (veggie or traditional), Neep (swede) and Tatties (potatoes) with plenty of Scottish Cheddar. Surely the ultimate Scottish toastie for Burns Supper and beyond. Some awesome serving suggestions from my followers included the addition of a whisky cream or peppercorn dipping sauce.

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 TikTok Wrap

Wrap

Haggis

Mashed Neeps

Mashed Tatties

Scottish Cheddar (grated)

Place your wrap on a chopping board. Take a knife and make a cut from the top to the centre point.

Heat through your haggis, neeps and tatties in the microwave.

Imagine the wrap being divided up into four quarters (like a 4 seasons pizza)

Put haggis in the top left, neeps in the bottom left, tatties bottom right and finally grated scottish cheddar top right.

Fold the wrap starting from the top left left quarter, folding it down over the bottom left, over to the bottom right and finally up to the top right.

Toast in a frying/griddle pan or in a panini press or health grill until the cheese has melted and the wrap is crispy.

Some awesome serving suggestions from my followers included the addition of a whisky cream or peppercorn dipping sauce.

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Haggis Neeps and Tatties Dauphinoise

Creamy dauphinoise potatoes with a touch of Burns. Layers of Scotland's holy trinity - haggis, neeps and tatties - combine to make a dish worthy of The Bard himself. Great with either traditional or vegetarian haggis. Serve with a dram and celebrate Burns Night in style. Gie her a haggis!

Tis the season for Haggis. Truth be told it's never out of season in this household but it always springs to prominence around Burns Night. (25th January for the uninitiated). I made Haggis Neeps and Tatties Dauphinoise for Burns Night last year but never got around to blogging the recipe. Time to rectify that oversight. The result definitely needs to be added to my Top 10 Haggis Recipes for Burns Night. 

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care, 

And dish them out their bill o' fare, 

Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware 

That jaups in luggies; 

But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer 

Gie her a haggis!

Haggis, Neeps and Gnocchi in a Whisky Cream Sauce

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 Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread with a Scottish Twist. Traditional or Vegetarian Haggis brings a Celtic connection to this quick and easy bread. No kneading, proving or yeast required in this fuss free bake.

Burns Night is all done and dusted for another year, however in this house Haggis is definitely for life, not just the 25th of January. As it happens I've hardly seen my husband - aka Foodie Loon - in the last week. As a Piper it's his busiest time of the year! Although not always at the same time, or in the same place, we did manage to enjoy plenty of haggis throughout the week in various shapes and forms and I shared My Top 10 Haggis Recipes for Burns Night in a a roundup post. No sooner had I published it than I had another idea. Haggis Bread. I'm not much of a bread maker if truth be told but Soda Bread is so quick and easy to make and it proved to be the perfect vehicle to incorporate haggis. I used traditional Haggis but vegetarian would work equally well - as would black pudding.

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties Pancakes

Post in collaboration with McIntosh of Strathmore

A delicious Scottish breakfast treat, these Haggis, Neeps and Tatties Pancakes are the ideal way to kick off your Burns Supper celebrations. But they are far too good to save just for breakfast or just for Burns Night. Haggis is for life - not just the 25th of January.

Once Hogmanay is past and the New Year begins, here in Scotland and in many places around the world, the countdown begins to possibly the most Scottish of Celebrations. Burns Night. The 25th of January makes Dry January impossible! How could you possibly toast The Bard without a dram?! To accompany that dram you also of course need the holy trinity of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Whilst Rabbie had plenty to say about the dish in one of his most famous poems "Address to a Haggis" it's been been give a rewrite by Scottish ready meal manufacturers McIntosh of Strathmore with their own version... 

Nae need tae cut up wi' ready slight 

When we've done a'things fir ye just right 

Aye, a dish tae tak yer fancy an' appeal, 

This, oor Burns Supper ready meal 

You can find McIntosh of Strathmore Haggis Neeps and Tatties ready meals all year round in the chiller cabinets of Scottish supermarkets, however in the lead up to Burns Night 2018 they'll be resplendent in limited edition promotional 'Poetry In A Pack' branding. In addition to the single serving "Wee Burns Supper" packs in both traditional and vegetarian variants, there's also a large pack which is perfect for sharing. All the meals can be cooked in either a conventional oven or microwaved and will let you enjoy Burns without the hassle of peeling, chopping, mashing and boiling! There's really no excuse not to celebrate with your very own Burns Supper whether as as individual or family and everyone can be kept happy with the equally delicious vegetarian option. 

Celebrate Burns with McIntosh and you'll have pretty much everything you need for a traditional Burns Supper in minutes! Just add whisky and you're all set. If you fancy doing something a wee bit different with your ready meal how about my Haggis, Neeps and Tatties Pancakes? I reckon they would make the perfect breakfast come 25th January but perhaps hold off on the whisky at such an early hour (although I did serve mine with a whisky cream sauce...!) You could even make blini sized ones and top them with Scottish Smoked Salmon for Burns Supper Canapes. No matter how you celebrate be sure to share your snaps on social media using the #BurnsWithMcIntosh hashtag and checkout the selection of Quick Burns Facts to impress or quiz your guests. 

Haggis Neeps and Tatties 'Pancakes' 

Makes 8 

1 x 340g Haggis Neeps & Tatties Ready Meal (traditional or vegetarian) 

50g Plain Flour 

1 Free Range Egg, beaten 

Splash of Scottish Rapeseed Oil 

Tip the contents of your ready meal into a bowl and combine it all together with a fork or potato masher. 

Add the flour and beaten egg and mix thoroughly. 

Divide the mixture into eight 'pancakes' 

Shallow fry four at a time in a splash of Scottish Rapessed Oil. 

They'll need approximately 5-8 minutes on each side to ensure they are warmed through with a crispy golden exterior.

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it,

But we hae meat and we can eat,

Sae let the Lord be Thanket!

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Linking up to CookBlogShare and Recipe of the Week

Wee Sleekit Cheese and Haggis Birls

Scottish Cheese Straws with the ultimate twist - Haggis! Only three ingredients in this tasty treat which is perfect for Burns Night, St Andrew's Day or Hogmanay. Haggis and Cheese go burlin in ready rolled Puff Pastry for an oh so moreish savoury Scottish snack which is so quick and easy to make.

So we all know that I'm savoury over sweet, cheese not choc, crisps not sweets. You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties, ideally positioned next to the Cheese Straws! They really are the perennial party food favourite but could they actually be improved upon? Over the years I've eaten and made them with various cheese, herbs, spices and even incorporated a slice of parma ham. However with January being the month of all things Burns, I got to thinking about Haggis. Cheese and Haggis are a match made in heaven (take my Auld Alliance Comté Cheese and Haggis Toastie as an example par excellence) so could I combine them in an epic Haggis Cheese Straw? Only one way to find out!

I shared the making of my Haggis, Cheese and Puff Pastry straws on Instagram stories and Twitter and was delighted to see that so many people were as excited by them as a work in progress as I was. I was kind of surprised quite how many straws the quantities I used actually made. Perhaps enough to feed the 5000 or go into competition with Greggs (I'm currently considering Quines as a brand name...) I did think that perhaps I should scale down the recipe before sharing here however I've left it as is as you really can't have too many of these tasty twists.

The name was another issue. I set out to create Haggis Cheese Straws however folks seemed to be referring to them as Haggis and Cheese Twists. But was there perhaps an even better name for them? Chaggis Straws was rejected but then bingo with a combination of effort on twitter came up with Wee Sleekit Cheese and Haggis Birls. 

birl (burl) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~v. 1. to spin around, to revolve rapidly.

~adv. birlin’ (“Ah tell ye, efter a’ that dancin’ ma heid’s fair birlin’“).

Robert Burns - Wee,sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie (To A Mouse)

English - Small, crafty, cowering, timorous little beast.

Call them what you will - I'm calling them a huge success! Far too good to keep just for Burns night I suggest you birl them out for all occasions but they are clearly essential fodder for 25th Jan, 30th Nov and 31st Dec when we are all feeling at our most Scottish. I'll leave it up to you as to whether you accompany with Whisky or Irn Bru.

Wee Sleekit Cheese and Haggis Birls

450g Haggis (traditional or vegetarian)

200g Scottish Cheddar Cheese, grated 

2 x 375g sheets of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry 

Preheat your oven to 200c

Remove the haggis from its skin and roughly chop into small pieces.

Unroll one sheet of the puff pastry, keeping it on its greaseproof backing for ease of handling

Sprinkle the chopped Haggis and grated Cheese over the top of the puff pastry sheet making sure you go right to the edges.

Unroll the second sheet of pastry and carefully place on top.

Push down on the layers gently with your hands before using a rolling pin to press all the layers together. 

Don't be too vigorous with the rolling pin, you can roll out to increase the size by 2-3 cm on each side but what you are really wanting to do it secure the layers.

Use a pizza wheel (or knife) to cut the Cheese/Haggis/Pastry in half horizontally and then cut vertical strips 2-3 cm wide.

Carefully remove each straw and give it a couple of twist before placing on a prepared baking tray. They will puff up a wee bit so give them room to do so.

Bake for approx 20 mins until golden brown and bubbling.

Ideally serve when they are still warm.

Some more of my Quirky Scottish Recipes that may well have Rabbie turning in his grave can be found in this post 25+ Quirky Scottish Recipes. Expect cotch Beef, Irn Bru, Tunnock's Teacakes, Haggis, Scottish Salmon, Tattie Scones, Whisky, Shortbread, Arbroath Smokies, Scottish Gin and more.

For more Haggis of all persuasions you'll be needing My Top 10 Haggis recipes for Burns night.

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Scotch Beef, Cheese and Haggis Burgers

Post in collaboration with Expedia

Only three ingredients yet full of flavour. Scotch Beef, Mature Cheddar Cheese and Haggis combine to create a succulent burger that is undoubtedly greater than the sum of it's parts.

Food and travel are inexplicably linked. I'll hold my hands up and admit that many, if not all of my holidays are planned around food. I reckon that's not a bad thing especially given my recent edible adventures to Iceland and Singapore and upcoming ones to Italy and France. However you don't need to leave the UK to enjoy a fantastic foodie trip as there's a year round wealth of food and drink-themed activities and events around the country, from major food festivals to celebrations of local produce. Expedia have created a UK Food Map to highlight the best of these events. This handy guide allows you to use their month-by-month filters to explore what's on where and when you spot something you like you can click the ‘find a cottage’ link to see the range of holiday cottages nearby. For me a holiday cottage is absolutely the best option for a foodie adventure as it offers me the the freedom to dine out and sample local restaurants combined with the facilities to cook for myself with goodies bought from local farm shops and producers. It really is the best of both worlds. 

The event in June that caught my eye on the Food Map is The Royal Highland Show. Described on the Expedia map as 'Scotland's annual agriculture showcase www.royalhighlandshow.org attracts up to 190,000 visitors. For foodies, the highlight is Scotland's Larder Live, which is packed with talks, tastings and food stalls.' As a farmer's daughter the Highland Show in Edinburgh has been an annual pilgrimage from a very early age. I didn't quite know how early until I quizzed my Mum about my first visit. Turns out I went as a bump in her tummy. A slight bleed resulted Mum being taken from the showground by ambulance and admitted to hospital. Meanwhile Dad stayed at the show for the rest of the week and never even mentioned to their fellow Young Farmers Club friends that Mum was in hospital! Typical farmer.

Whilst the Highland Show has always been a must do for the farming community, over the years it has expanded to provide something for everyone. Of course farming is still the main event but it also includes an outdoor living and countryside area, shopping & fashion, entertainment, children's activities, renewable energy and food & drink. However for me its the stocklines that really encompass what the show is about. That combined with the Scotland's Larder area shows off the whole ethos of Farm to Fork. When it came to creating a recipe inspired by the show it simply had to be Scotch Beef. To complement it I've used two more fantastic Scottish products. Haggis and Cheese. These three ingredients come together to make a fantastically tasty and succulent burger that is even greater than the sum of it's parts.

Scotch Beef, Cheese and Haggis Burgers

Makes 8

500g Lean Scotch Beef Mince

454g Haggis

200g Mature Scottish Cheddar, coarsely grated

Remove the haggis from its outer cover and cut into small cubes - approx 1cm. Place in a bowl along with the Scotch Beef Mince and the Grated Cheese. No additional seasoning is required. 

Mix until everything is blended together, the best way to do this is to use your hands.

Divide the mixture into 8 even portions and shape into patties or use a burger press. 

The burgers can then be cooked in a frying pan, under the grill or on the barbecue for about 10 minutes or until nicely browned and cooked through. Turn them halfway through the cooking time.

Serve in a bun with your favourite condiments and sides.

When it comes to choosing your beef, the logo and wording you need to look out for is Scotch Beef PGI. PGI stands for Protected Geographical Indication. It’s an EU scheme to protect and promote high quality traditional and regional food products unique to a geographic area. Scotch Beef has long held this coveted PGI status and is specially selected and only sourced from Scottish farms that adopt best practice regarding animal welfare and natural production methods. When you see the PGI badge with the Scotch Beef logo, you can be confident that all cattle were born, reared and processed in Scotland and hold whole life quality assurance.

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned recipe for Expedia. As always, all views expressed are my own. 

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to continue to share my Edible Scottish Adventures with you. I’m super choosy and promise to bring you only the cream of the crop.

Haggis Waffles

Enjoy a Braw Burns Breakfast with these Haggis Waffles. If you fancy adding a Whisky Cream Sauce or a Dram on the side I'm sure The Bard would approve. Ideal for Burns Night, St Andrews Day or any Scottish Celebration!

I promise that this is the last of my new Burns Night recipes for 2017. Every year I get just a little bit carried away! So far this time round we've had Scotch Beef & Haggis Meatloaf with Whisky Neeps and Chocolate Haggis, both of which have gone down a storm with my followers on social media and readers here on the blog. I just had to sneak another one in before the big day on the 25th.

The idea for Haggis Waffles came to me in bed one night. I immediately turned to Google and Pinterest as I was convinced that there would already be lots of them out there but I couldn't find a single mention of any! Could I possibly have created a completely new thing?! They actually turned out even better than I could have imagined. The smell as they are cooking is incredible. You could easily use Veggie Haggis in them if you prefer. When it came to eating I went for crispy streaky bacon and lashings of maple syrup. Foodie Girl opted for red sauce, Boy for brown and Foodie Loon for sriracha. I reckon they'd also be pretty awesome with a whisky cream sauce. Sláinte!

Haggis Waffles

200g Self Raising Flour

25g Caster Sugar

Pinch Salt

280ml Milk

2 Free Range Eggs

80g Butter, melted

260g Haggis, cubed

Sieve together the flour, caster sugar and salt into a medium bowl.

In another bowl whisk together the milk, eggs and melted butter.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour in the liquid mixture and whisk until well combined.

Chop up the haggis into small cubes, tip into the waffle batter and stir through.

Cook according to the instructions for your particular waffle maker.

Whilst you've got the waffle maker out here's a few more of my recipes plus some from my food blogging colleagues. Enjoy!

• Chocolate Waffles
• Green Tea Matcha Waffles
• Apple, Cinnamon & Maple Syrup Waffles
• Quesadilla Waffles
• Coconut Mango Waffles
• Almond Waffles
• Sweet Potato Waffles
• Falafel Waffles

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Linking up to Weekend Brunch Club and CookBlogShare

Chocolate Haggis! (aka Shortbread and Whisky Fridge Cake)

Haggis for those who don't like Haggis. Perfect for Burns Night for those who are a wee bit squeamish about eating the real thing or are just too lazy to go out and hunt one down in the wild. Chocolate Haggis is a slightly boozy boozy Chocolate, Shortbread and Whisky Fridge Cake. Ideal served with ice cream ‘tatties’ and orange jelly ‘neeps’⁣

When I'm asked to describe my style of cooking I always struggle as it's a bit of a mish mash of everything. However if there is a particular area of speciality it's probably 'Quirky Scottish' or 'Scottish with a Twist'. Today's recipe definitely falls into that category. Surprisingly there's no Irn Bru or Tunnock's Teacakes involved but instead a culinary pun on a Scottish classic. Chocolate Haggis.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm:

Weel are ye worthy o' a grace

As lang's my arm.

This one will mess with your mind - it looks savoury but is in fact sweet. I took inspiration from the Italian concept of Chocolate Salami but by switching out ingredients for Shortbread and Whisky and shortening and fattening up the shape we get ourselves a Haggis! Perfect for those who are a wee bit squeamish about eating the real thing or are just too lazy to go out and hunt one down in the wild. The end result is a very decadent no bake fridge cake. Seriously rich and just a touch boozy.

Chocolate Haggis! 

(aka Shortbread & Whisky Fridge Cake)

3 Tbsp Scotch Whisky (no E people!)

50g Sultanas

100g Butter

100g Cocoa Powder

1 Free Range Egg *

100g Caster Sugar

150g Shortbread

50g Mixed Nuts, chopped

Icing Sugar to dust

Place the sultanas and whisky in a small bowl and leave to soak whilst you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Melt the butter in a pan, then sieve in the cocoa powder and stir until you have a smooth paste.

In a separate bowl whisk the sugar and egg together until pale and creamy.

Place the shortbread in a ziplock bag and bash it with a rolling pin. You want a mixture of chunks and crumbs.

Combine the chocolate mix with the sugar/egg mix and stir in the shortbread, chopped mixed nuts and the whisky soaked sultanas, plus any remaining Whisky.

Lay out a double thickness of clingfilm and tip the chocolate mixture out onto it forming a haggis shape.

Roll up and continue to manipulate into shape tying a knot at each end of the clingfilm

Chill in the fridge overnight to set.

Remove the clingfilm and rub the outside with icing sugar.

Slice and enjoy with a dram.

Sláinte!

* A note on the raw egg issue. The current advice in the UK from the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food is that British eggs with the red "lion" brand carry such a low risk that vulnerable groups can safely eat them.

Updated 26 January 2017...

WOW! I was so chuffed to see so many folk making and eating Chocolate Haggis yesterday for Burns Night. Please do keep tagging me in your photos and sharing you adaptations. Thanks also to The Scotsman Food & Drink for helping to spread the Chocolate Haggis love.

Photo credits from top left in a clockwise direction...
@islandbakeclub Thanks @foodiequine for the recipe, which I tweaked to include #lassiestoast. @RockRoseGin check out tonight's sweet haggis #BurnsNight2017
Ann McLean What a fantastic recipe! Made it on Sunday and it's been in the fridge since then. Came out slightly misshapen but tastes great - thanks! I've had 3 bits and the Auchentoshan single malt in the sultanas has my eyes crossing. It's totally sinful and delicious!
Lisa Williams Chocolate haggis minus the whisky and egg!! We used golden syrup instead of whisky, egg and sugar
@eskerspirits What do you make your friend for her Burns' Night birthday tea? Yep, chocolate & shortbread haggis. Thanks for (another) amazing recipe @foodiequine
My original
@islandbakeclub
@jumpergill Last night I tried out @foodiequine's Chocolate Haggis, with a minor adjustment to make it gluten free. It certainly looks the part, let's see how well it goes down with the #haggiscrew
Lisa Williams
My seasonal Haggis logo by Mimi Hammill

Thanks to the 2nd Stonehaven Brownies for telling me that a Chocolate Haggis (without the whisky!) is their Burns tradition served with orange jelly 'neeps' ice cream 'mashed tatties' and of course washed down with a dram of Irn Bru! Much more popular with the girls than the savoury original.

Some more of my Quirky Scottish Recipes that may well have Rabbie turning in his grave can be found in this post 25+ Quirky Scottish Recipes. Expect Scotch Beef, Irn Bru, Tunnock's Teacakes, Haggis, Scottish Salmon, Tattie Scones, Whisky, Shortbread, Arbroath Smokies, Scottish Gin and more.

For more Haggis of all persuasions you'll be needing My Top 10 Haggis recipes for Burns night.

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Scotch Beef and Haggis Meatloaf with Whisky Neeps

There's a reason us Scottish folk can't do Dry January. That reason is Burns Night and consequently Whisky. (No E folks, no E). Me and whisky go back a long way. It's been a big part of my life as long as I can remember. Before you start worrying, I wasn't drinking it as a toddler, rather I'm a farmer's daughter and my Dad's main crop was malting barley. Our family farm is on The Black Isle, overlooking the Beauly Firth. The next Firth as you head north is the Cromarty Firth and following that the Dornoch Firth. But why am I telling you all of this? The reason being is that all of our barley was sold locally so there is a chance that some of it made its way to Balblair Distillery on the coast of the Dornoch Firth. So when Balblair got in touch to ask if I'd like to come onboard and work with them to celebrate Burns Night I felt that I'd come full circle and there was an immediate connection. Us Highlanders like to stick together.

When it comes to Burns night there are many traditions, but the tipple of choice is always Whisky. Famous for producing award-winning Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Balblair is the ideal dram to toast the Bard with. Whilst many whiskys are sold by age, Balblair is sold by Vintage resulting in strongly individual whiskies which capture the unique essence of the year in which they were laid down. Both the bottles and boxes are absolutely stunning in vibrant colours with an innovative magnetic door opening mechanism for the box.

Now for the taste test. I know what I like when it comes to alcohol but I'm not very good at putting the flavours into words à la Jilly Goolden and Oz Clarke (showing my age!) so I'll leave that to the experts and share the official tasting notes for the Balblair Malts trio. All I have to add is that I'm pretty sure I tasted some of my Dad's barley in the 1990...

1990 Highland Single Malt Whisky, 1st release

Matures in American oak ex-bourbon casks and Spanish oak ex sherry butts Blablair Vintage 1990 2nd release is truly exceptional. This luxurious expression is the perfect after dinner treat.

1999 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, 2nd release

This beautifully developed Balblair Vintage boasts the classic, fruity, floral and light heart of Balblair set against a darker, richer backdrop of further maturation in Spanish oak.

2005 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, 1st release

Only a handful of American oak, ex-bourbon casks laid down in 2005 were selected by Distillery Manager John MacDonald to form this classic Balblair expression. Light, fruity and refreshing, this classic Vintage embodies Balblair’s house style.

The recipe that I've created using Balblair combines the holy trinity of Burns Supper ingredients. Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Fair fa your honest sonsie face! Yup, we're talking haggis. Serious Burns. Although in my book Haggis is most definitely for life and not just for Burns Night (25th January for the uninitiated)

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.

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.

For a twist on tradition I've used Scotch Beef to make a Beef and Haggis Meatloaf which is then topped with Neeps cooked in a Balblair, Butter and Brown Sugar glaze. I do hope Rabbie would approve.

Scotch Beef & Haggis Meatloaf with Whisky Neeps

Meatloaf Ingredients
450g Haggis
500g Scotch Beef Mince
1 Small Onion, finely chopped

Whisky Neeps Ingredients
700g Neeps (Swede) cubed
60g Butter
60g Demerara Sugar
2 Nips (70ml) of Balblair Whisky
Salt & Pepper

Meatloaf
Preheat your oven to 180c
Remove the haggis from its outer wrappings and cut it into small cubes.
In a large bowl combine the Scotch Beef Mince, Haggis cubes and chopped onion. The most effective way to do this is to get your hands in and give it a thorough mix.
Press the meatloaf mixture into a non stick 2lb loaf tin and cook for 45 minutes.

Whisky Neeps 

Place the cubed neep in a pan with the butter, sugar, Balblair 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 with salt & pepper.

Turn the Scotch Beef and Haggis Meatloaf out onto a board and top with the Whisky Neeps.

Serve the meatloaf sliced with extra Whisky Neeps on the side and a generous dollop of Mashed Tatties. Accompany with a dram of Balblair.

Slainte!

Disclosure: This is a commissioned recipe for Balblair. As always, all views expressed are my own.

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to continue to share my Edible Scottish Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to only ever bring you the cream of the crop.

Haggis and Beef Scotch Eggs

How do you make a Scotch Egg more Scottish? Add Haggis! Use traditional or vegetarian haggis to make these Haggis & Beef Scotch Eggs for Burns Night, Hogmanay or St Andrews Day.  But remember, Haggis is for life - not just the 25th of January!

Sometimes foodie experiments turn out well and sometimes they don't. The Scotch Eggs I'm sharing with you today were a big success. It was only after they'd been devoured and a quick Instagram snap of them generated a lot of interest that I realised that they were most definitely worthy of a blog post. As an interim measure I shared the recipe on my Facebook Page and it produced lots of likes, shares and general excitement. Sometimes I think I should concentrate purely on Tunnock's Teacakes, Gin, Irn Bru and Haggis as these always seem to be the things that grab attention on my social media channels! Perhaps I have a disproportionate amount of Gin drinking Scots in my audience?!

Prior to these I think the first and only time I've ever made a Scotch Egg was in 'O' Grade Food & Nutrition. As I recall it took longer to clean the deep fat fryer afterwards than it took to make the actual Scotch Egg. These are undoubtedly much healthier than a deep fried version and the double coating of panko breadcrumbs give a fantastic crunch. A good quality, not too fatty, Scotch Beef sausage will make all the difference. They taste equally good cold as they do straight from the oven and are most definitely not just for Burns Night.

 

Haggis & Beef Scotch Eggs

6 Hard Boiled Eggs
400g beef sausages
200g haggis
2 eggs lightly beaten
Panko breadcrumbs
Fry Light (or equivalent oil spray)

Boil 6 eggs for 5 minutes, peel and cool (cook longer if you're not keen on a runny yolk)
Squish the meat out of the sausages into a bowl. Finely chop the haggis and mix well through the beef. Divide the mixture into 6 equal pieces (100g each if like me you like to be exact!)
Lay out a piece of clingfilm on your work surface. Squish out one piece of meat to a roundish flat circle,
Place a hard boiled egg in the middle and draw up the clingfilm around it.
Shape into a ball easing the sausagemeat to completely cover the egg before peeling away the clingfilm.
Repeat for the other 5 eggs.
Dip each meat coated egg into the beaten egg, then the panko and repeat so each has a double coat.
Place the Scotch Eggs on a baking tray, spray with fry light (or drizzle with oil) and cook at 200c for 25-30mins.

Some more of my Quirky Scottish Recipes that may well have Rabbie turning in his grave can be found in this post 25+ Quirky Scottish Recipes. Expect Scotch Beef, Irn Bru, Tunnock's Teacakes, Haggis, Scottish Salmon, Tattie Scones, Whisky, Shortbread, Arbroath Smokies, Scottish Gin and more.

For more Haggis of all persuasions you'll be needing My Top 10 Haggis recipes for Burns night.

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