Monday 5 December 2011

St. Andrew's Day and our first Haggis

I was really looking forward to our first St. Andrew's Day in Edinburgh.  Not that I was hoping to go out to a party or anything...I was simply looking forward to cooking haggis for the first time.  I love haggis...there I've said it...in fact, both David and I love haggis so that isn't an issue.  The issue is the Neeps! EURGH!!! There are few vegetables that I don't like, but unfortunately Swede a.k.a Rutabaga is one of them (along with Parsnips if you are interested)...so Neeps was most definitely off the St. Andrew's Day menu.

  
To make up for the dastardly Neeps I cooked up some carrots and mashed them into the tatties, along with some thinly shredded cooked cabbage...a kind of makeshift clapshot.  

I'll admit that the Haggis was a name brand purchase from Waitrose...if I had had more time (and money) I would have ordered one from the local butcher...but...it is hard to get there afterwork on a cold and dreary Wednesday.  Hold on...no excuses, the brand name one did us just fine.  It was seasoned well, the texture was great and well...in the end it IS lamb offal so it can't really be that fancy!! 

To bring it all together I made a whisky cream sauce by warming some cream and then adding whole grain mustard and a good shot of Wiser's 18 yr. Canadian Rye Whisky to it. 

The great thing...we can do it all again in January on Burns night!!! 

6 comments:

  1. I absolutely love Haggis! With mash and whisky cream...wow, you almost had me drooling over my keyboard :-)

    And I never realised that rutabaga was a swede! That is my official Food Fact for the day.

    Sx

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  2. It sounds like a delicious meal, although I (as the child of scots) am the opposite to you, I just love neeps and but I loath haggis! I do try it on Burns night, but am like a fussy child and will only ever manage one spoonful! Sad but true!

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  3. I want to comment, I really do, but I don't know what to say. Haggis must be an acquired taste. But I love rutabaga and turnips! Go figure.

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  4. I have yet to try haggis. Not sure why. I'll be spending the New Years in Edinburgh, so maybe I'll try my first haggis there :)

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  5. I am not sure about haggis ~ but I LOVE neeps and parsnips, SORRY! Happy Belated St Andrew's Day!

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  6. I like haggis! I tried it when I went up to glasgow and I know people recoil at the idea of offal but I LOVE offal (: yum yum yum. your whisky cream sauce sounds divine!

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