Recipe | fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, great chieftain o' the puddin'-race!

'O what a glorious sicht,
Warm-reekin, rich!'

I love Scotland. Such great tartan and accents. It makes me kind of sad to be plain old English - tweed and a Brummie accent just don't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside in the same way.

Friday was a big day in any Scot's calender. In celebration of the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns, Burns night supper is an annual event that sees Scots unite for laughter, drinks and lots of good food. This year was no exception. I was so excited to have been invited to a friend's flat for haggis (and, more importantly, veggie haggis), 'neeps and tatties. The whole evening was such fun! Their friend did the 'ode to the haggis', acting out the poem and stabbing the haggis with her dagger, and my friend's boyfriend's sister sang an a cappella version of a Robbie Burns poem before we all tucked into dessert, which I can only describe as oat-y, raspberry-y cream. YUM.

I had been to a Burns night supper before but - being completely freaked out by the whole concept of haggis - didn't try the stomach-y, meat-y offering. The veggie haggis on Friday was amazing, really yummy. A guest at the party said she could barely tell the difference between the meat and non-meat version, pretty impressive.

I told my friend she had to send me the recipe - I will be making my own veggie haggis asap! - and she emailed it over the next day. I thought I'd pop it up here in case there's anyone out there looking to make their own.

B's Veggie Haggis

(Not actual haggis from Friday...although the table cloth is a pretty close match!)

75g (3oz) mushrooms, finely chopped
75g (3oz) brown lentils (soaked for 2-3 hours)
50g (2oz) pinhead oatmeal (soaked for 1 hour)
50g (2oz) red kidney beans (soaked, cooked and chopped)
25g (1oz) margarine
150g (5oz) grated carrot
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
150g (5oz) onions, finely chopped
1 tbspn vegetable oil
1 tbspn tamari or soy sauce
1 tspn garam masala
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

1. Saute the garlic and onion in a little vegetable oil until soft, 

adding the garam masala, tamari or soy sauce and a 

little salt and pepper.

2. Add the brown lentils and carrot, and simmer on a low

heat until the lentils are soft, stirring to prevent the mixture 

sticking. If the mixture starts to dry out too much, add a small 

amount of vegetable stock or water.

3. Add mushrooms and allow to soften, then add the kidney beans.

Stir in the margarine and add black pepper to taste.

4. Add the rinsed and drained oatmeal to the mixture and mix well. 

The oatmeal should retain its texture to give body to the haggis.

I think you could probably use soya spread or sunflower spread instead of marg to make this vegan... Guilt-free pleasure! Hope you enjoy!

Also...lol@this-