celebrating ... rabbie

as it was burns’ night on tuesday i decided to have a bash at making a ‘traditional’ meal. we normally eat ready-made veggie haggis so i thought i would have a bash at home-made and i’ve always wanted to try making cranachan since i had it in a restaurant ages ago.

it took a couple of hours of prepping and cooking and i’m quite surprised but delighted to report it was a success! no more shop-bought veggie haggis for us.

m completed our evening by reading me some of rabbie’s poetry (my english tongue just can’t enunciate some of those scottish words in the same delightful way that m can!).

here’s the recipes in case you fancy creating a little piece of scotland on your dinner table.

(you'll notice that the photos are all taken pre-cooking ... that's because once they come out of the oven, i'm usually too hungry to be standing around taking pics!)

veggie haggis

> ingredients
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 carrot
6 to 10 mushrooms
small piece of turnip
350ml vegetable stock
7tbsp red lentils
4 to 5 tbsps red kidney beans (slightly mashed/chopped up)
7 to 8 tbsps of chopped, mixed nuts
3 tsp soy sauce
(i also added 3 tsp of mushroom ketchup)
juice from one lemon
1.5tsp thyme
1.5 tsp rosemary
pinch cayenne pepper (i used chilli powder as a substitute)
1.5tsp mixed spice
ground black pepper to taste
1 egg
250g oats (i used the remainder of the pinhead oatmeal i bought for the cranachan)

> method
put the oven on to 190oC, gas mark 5, 375oF.

finely chop the turnip and one clove of garlic, mix with the chopped nuts and a sprinkling of black pepper. pop into the oven to roast for 5 to 10 mins.

finely chop one clove of garlic, onion, carrot, mushrooms and saute.

add 250ml of the veg stock, lentils, kidney beans, roast nut mix, soy sauce, mushroom ketchup and herbs and spices.

mix well, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins.

add the remaining stock mix if the mixture looks a little too dry.

add the oats to the pan, cover and simmer for 20 mins, add a little more seasoning if required.

add lemon juice, then stir in a beaten egg.

mix well and turn into a greased loaf tin, baking tin or roasting tray.

cook for 30 mins until firm.

serve with ...

clapshot
(i'm not sure if this is the traditional recipe, it's more like our version of it!)

> ingredients
potatoes
turnip
single cream
butter
grated cheese

> method
peel and chop the turnip and pop in a pan of boiling water,

allow to cook for five minutes and then chop the potatoes and add to the pan. i don't peel the potatoes as i like the extra texture from the peel.

allow the turnip and potatoes to cook until soft.

add the butter and the cream and smash, rather than mash the mixture together. you're aiming to have a texture like a lumpy mash.

mix through half of the grated cheese until it melts.

you can add so herbs at this stage too.

turn out into a baking tray and top with the remaining grated cheese.

pop in the oven (or under the grill if you're in a hurry) until the cheese on top has browned nicely.

and then for dessert …

cranachan

> ingredients
60g medium oatmeal (i could only find pinhead and it worked fine)
150g raspberries
4tbsp malt whisky (we didn't have whisky so i used cognac which was lovely)
4tbsp honey
600mls double cream

> method
mix the oatmeal with a little brown sugar and toast lightly.

blend 75g raspberries until smooth.

whisk the double cream until stiff.

stir the honey and whisky into the cream.

fold in 50g of the oatmeal and all of the raspberry puree.

serve topped with the remaining raspberries and oatmeal.

i like a little shortbread biscuit on the side too, so here's a recipe for that as well ...

shortbread

> ingredients
250g butter, softened
250g plain flour
100g golden caster sugar

> method
put the oven on to 190oC, gas mark 5, 375oF.

beat the butter and sugar together until smooth, i find this easier to do if i warm the butter slightly in the microwave first.

sift the flour in a little at a time and mix together until smooth.

turn the mix out onto a floured surface.

roll out to 1cm thick and cut into your desired shape

sprinkle with a little sugar and chill for 20 minutes.

bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

and here's a little robert burns' to accompany your meal ...

oh, my love is like a red, red rose
that's newly sprung in june
oh, my love is like the melody
that's sweetly played in tune

as fair art thou, my bonnie lass
so deep in love am i
and i will love thee still, my dear
till all the seas gang dry

till all the seas gang dry my dear
and the rocks melt with the sun
and i will love thee still, my dear
while the sands of life shall run

and fare-thee-well, my only love
and fare-thee-well a while
and i will come again, my love
tho it were ten thousand mile

you can find some more here