Give her a Haggis!

It is Burns Night and there is nothing quite like living in another country to make you patriotic! So I have spent my weekend elbow deep in haggis making all sorts of things to celebrate the occasion.

Here are a few nice haggis bites (two of which have been adapted from the recipes found here) which are great for a party and perfect as a pub food Sunday blog post. All three treats are deep-fried so very in-keeping with Scottish traditions! It is messy work but, on the plus side, if you fancy making them all then you can do so in one large pot.

Make sure you have your favourite whisky on hand for serving.

HAGGIS AND BLACK PUDDING BON BONS WITH WHISKY MARMALADE

Ingredients:

400g cooked haggis
200g cooked black pudding, roughly crumbled
4 tablespoons flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100g panko breadcrumbs
100g orange marmalade
25ml whisky
Vegetable oil for frying
Seasoning

Method:

• Lightly mix the haggis and black pudding. Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and shape into balls or cube shapes. If the mixture is crumbling then place the balls/cubes into the fridge for 20 minutes or so to allow them to firm up.
• In the meantime, mix together the marmalade and whisky. Some whiskies are stronger than others so add a little at a time and taste as you go to make sure you don’t overdo it.
• When you are ready to cook the bon bons, heat the oil to 160 degrees celsius. While the oil is heating, place the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs into three separate bowls or shallow dishes and place in an assembly line. Take a ball/cube, dip in the flour then into the egg (shaking the excess off each time) and then finally into the breadcrumbs. Pat the crumbs on to make sure haggis is completely covered. Repeat with the rest.
• Gently place the bon bons into the oil and cook for about 2 minutes until golden and crispy on the outside. Remove from the oil and place on a piece of kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.
• Serve immediately with the marmalade on the side.

HAGGIS PAKORA WITH PAKORA SAUCE

Ingredients:

For the pakora:
300g haggis
100g gram flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 – 1 teaspoon chilli powder (depending on how spicy you want it)
125 ml natural yogurt
Squeeze lemon juice
Vegetable oil

For the sauce:
200ml natural yogurt
1/2 – 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (again adapt to your taste)
1 teaspoon mint sauce
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon tomato puree
Salt

Method:

• Take a heaped tablespoon of haggis and roll into small balls.
• Make the sauce by mixing the yogurt, tomato sauce, tomato puree, chilli powder and mint sauce together with a good pinch of salt. Set aside until ready to serve.
• Heat the oil to 160 degrees celsius. In the meantime, make the batter for the pakora. Sieve the gram flour into a large bowl. Add the spices and mix well. Then add the yogurt and lemon juice. You want a fairly thick batter but if you feel it is too think, add a splash of water.
• Dip the haggis balls in the batter until coated completed and then gently place in the hot oil. Fry for about 2 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a piece of kitchen towel to remove the excess oil. Depending on the size of your pot you can catch in batched of 4 – 6 at a time.
• Serve with the dipping sauce.

HAGGIS SCOTCH EGGS WITH MUSTARD MAYONAISE

Ingredients:

6 free-range eggs
100g haggis
100g sausage meat
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
2 – 3 tablespoon flour
50g breadcrumbs
50g rolled oats
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Vegetable oil
Seasoning

Method:

• Heat water in a pan until boiling. Reduce the heat until the water is simmering. Add the eggs and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the water and run under cold water.
• Mix together the haggis, sausage meat and chives together with a little extra salt and pepper. Take 1/4 of the mixture and place it on a piece of cling film. Roughly flatten out the mixture to about 1/2 cm thick. Repeat for each of the remaining quarters.
• Create an assembly line with the flour in one bowl or shallow dish, the two remaining eggs lightly beaten in another and the oats and the breadcrumbs mixed together in a third dish. Remove the cooked eggs from their shells. Dip in the flour and cover completely. Then place in the centre of the sausage meat mixture. Using the cling film, mould the sausage meat around the egg trying to get it as evenly spread as possible. Once rolled, remove the cling film and roll the sausage meat in the flour, making sure it is completely covered. Shake off any excess and then dip the egg in the beaten egg. Allow any excess to drip off and place the egg in the breadcrumbs and oats. Roll around making sure there are no gaps in the breadcrumb coating. Repeat with the remaining three eggs.
• Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full of vegetable oil. Heat to 170 degrees. Once the oil is ready, gently place two eggs in the saucepan. Allow to cook for 6 minutes. To test that the sausage meat is cooked, insert a knife into the meat (make sure not to go too far and hit the egg). Remove the knife and place it against the back of your hand. The knife should feel warm to the touch and the breadcrumbs should be golden and crisp. Remove the eggs from the saucepan and place on a piece of kitchen towel to remove the excess oil. Repeat with the remaining two eggs.
• To make the dipping sauce, simply mix together the mayonnaise, wholegrain and dijon mustard
• You can either serve the eggs as they are or cut them in half using a serrated knife before placing on the plate. Add a little dish of mustard mayonnaise and serve.

Happy Burns Night!