Haggis with Neeps and Tatties
The practice of filling an animal’s stomach with chopped meat and boiling it goes back to at least the early Middle Ages and was widespread throughout Europe and the Middle East although there is some speculation that the idea was first introduced by the ancient Romans. In her book Haggis: A Little History, Clarissa Dickson Wright suggests that the Haggis was introduced to Scotland by Scandinavians and that the name has its roots in the Old Norse word ‘haggw’ or the Old Icelandic ‘hoggva’ meaning to ‘chop’. She further suggests that it was eaten by hunters who were able to eat the offal as quickly as possible after the kill as it was likely to have ‘gone off’ by the time they returned home. While some elements of the innards could be cooked over fire (liver and kidneys) the lungs, intestines and stomach needed to be cooked in water to preserve any moisture. Chopping everything, putting it into a sheep’s stomach and boiling it in a portable vessel was therefore a better option. The later addition of oats as a filler was particular to the climate of Scotland and northern counties of England where oats, rather than wheat, were cultivated. In Gervase Markham’s The English Huswife (1615) he refers to the Haggas being “oat-meale mixed with blood, and the Liver of either Sheepe, Calfe or Swine, maketh that pudding … of whose goodnesse it is in vaine to boast, because there is hardly to be found a man that doth not affect them”. Haggis eventually became the national dish of Scotland and is particularly served every year on Burns Night (25th January) with much ceremony and always accompanied by Neeps and Tatties (a mash of swede and potatoes). Of course, you can make your own haggis and there are plenty of recipes available but I’m personally not keen on wrestling with a whole sheep’s pluck and very good, ready-made haggises are available in most supermarkets and butchers during January.
Equipment
2 large-lidded saucepans
Colander
Potato masher
Preparation method
Fill one of the saucepans with water, place on the hob and bring to the boil.
Place the haggises in the water, reduce the heat and simmer for an hour.
Fill the other saucepan with water, add salt and bring to the boil and add the swede chunks. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the potato chunks and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until the potatoes and swede are tender.
Drain in the colander and return to the saucepan.
Add the salt and pepper and the butter.
Mash with the potato masher.
Place the lid on the saucepan while you deal with the haggises.
Take the haggises off the heat and carefully transfer to a serving dish.
Place the neeps and tatties in a lidded serving dish.
Serve the haggises by slitting them, scooping out the contents and dividing between your Burns Night guests who can then help themselves to the neeps and tatties.
