flipHaggis with Neeps & Tatties
Haggis with Neeps & Tatties
Why this dish? National dish of great Scottish meals that Hume, a noted gourmand with a generous appetite and proud of his country, served to his guests — the embodiment of the good Scottish fare he defended with wit.
A rustic pudding of minced sheep offal with oatmeal, onion and plenty of pepper, traditionally cooked in the animal's stomach. Served mashed with swede (neeps) and potatoes (tatties), it is the festive dish par excellence.
Do not pull that face, my friend! I know a stranger recoils from haggis, but this, I assure you, is the tastiest of poor man's meats turned philosopher's feast. The heart and liver are minced with a good measure of oatmeal, peppered without stint, and the whole cooked in the stomach until the house smells divine. At my Edinburgh table, I have seen more than one skeptic converted by the mere aroma. Eat, and judge afterwards — that is my method in all things.
- •Sheep's pluck (heart, liver, lungs) — one complete set (base)
- •Suet — a good amount (richness)
- •Toasted oatmeal — generously (binder and texture)
- •Onions — 2 or 3 (aromatic)
- •Black pepper, salt — abundantly (signature spice)
- •Sheep's stomach — 1 (casing)
- •Swede (neeps) — as needed (accompaniment)
Haggis with Neeps & Tatties
A rustic pudding of minced sheep offal with oatmeal, onion and plenty of pepper, traditionally cooked in the animal's stomach. Served mashed with swede (neeps) and potatoes (tatties), it is the festive dish par excellence.
Why this dish? National dish of great Scottish meals that Hume, a noted gourmand with a generous appetite and proud of his country, served to his guests — the embodiment of the good Scottish fare he defended with wit.
Do not pull that face, my friend! I know a stranger recoils from haggis, but this, I assure you, is the tastiest of poor man's meats turned philosopher's feast. The heart and liver are minced with a good measure of oatmeal, peppered without stint, and the whole cooked in the stomach until the house smells divine. At my Edinburgh table, I have seen more than one skeptic converted by the mere aroma. Eat, and judge afterwards — that is my method in all things.
Ingredients (period version)
- Sheep's pluck (heart, liver, lungs) — one complete set (base)
- Suet — a good amount (richness)
- Toasted oatmeal — generously (binder and texture)
- Onions — 2 or 3 (aromatic)
- Black pepper, salt — abundantly (signature spice)
- Sheep's stomach — 1 (casing)
- Swede (neeps) — as needed (accompaniment)
Ingredients
- Store-bought haggis (or lamb liver + heart) — 800 g (base)
- Toasted rolled oats — 120 g (binder)
- Onions — 2 (aromatic)
- Suet or butter — 80 g (richness)
- Coarsely ground black pepper — 2 tsp (signature spice)
- Swede (neeps) — 1 large (mashed accompaniment)
- Potatoes (tatties) — 600 g (mashed accompaniment)
Method
- If using store-bought haggis, reheat gently wrapped in foil in the oven (180°C, 1 hour) or poach for 45 minutes.
- For a homemade version: cook heart and liver for 1 hour, mince finely, mix with toasted oats, sautéed onions, suet, salt and plenty of pepper.
- Fill a floured cloth or terrine, shape and poach for 1.5 hours.
- Meanwhile, cook swede and potatoes separately, mash each with butter, salt and pepper.
- Split the haggis, serve the steaming meat between the two mashes.
How it was made : Haggis used perishable offal after slaughter, cooked in the stomach which served as natural casing and cooking pot. The toasted oats extended the meat to feed a whole household. Robert Burns would celebrate it in 1786, shortly after Hume's death.
The contemporary twist : 'Clapshot' — neeps and tatties mashed together with chives — makes a single bed under the haggis, more modern than a plate of three piles.
Sources : Robert Burns, Address to a Haggis (1786) · F. Marian McNeill, The Scots Kitchen (1929)
David Hume · Charactorium
