Recipe: homemade haggis with mash, turnip confit and beef sauce
Celebrate St Andrew’s Day tomorrow with this update on classic haggis, neeps and tatties.
Scotland’s national dish is the perfect comfort food for this time of year, but have you ever tried making your own? We asked Callum Gilmour, head chef at The Saint in St Andrews, for his tried and tested recipe.
Homemade haggis with mash, turnip confit and beef
Ingredients (serves 4):
For the haggis:
1 kg lamb plucks
220g pinhead oats
400g white onions, dice
300g beef suet
10g cayenne pepper
10g nutmeg
20g garlic powder
30g ground all spice
30g cracked black pepper
30g ground sea salt
For the mash:
8 white potatoes
20ml double cream
30g unsalted butter
For the confit turnip:
½ a whole turnip, cut into squares
50g duck fat
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves of garlic, roughly crushed
For the beef sauce:
200ml beef stock
50ml red wine
20ml whisky
20ml cream
Method:
Place lamb plucks in a pot and cover with water – bring to boil and simmer for around 1 hour. Take lamb plucks out of water and leave to cool. Fry onions in a pan until golden and add all the spices and pepper. Add the oats and enough to cooking liquid from the lamb to cover the oats. Grate the lamb plucks and add to the pan. Mix together thoroughly and taste season with salt and pepper. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Wrap in Clingfilm and shape into rugby ball.
Next, make the mash potato. Peel the potatoes, place in a pot and cover with cold water. Boil until soft and then drain. Add butter and the cream and then mash with a potato ricer or hand held masher. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the confit turnip, warm the duck fat until it has turned to a liquid. Place turnip, herbs and garlic in tray and cover with fat. Cover with tin foil and put in oven at 120°C and cook for around 40 minutes. Baste the turnip twice, once after 15 and again after 30 minutes.
Next, make the beef sauce. Place the wine and beef stock into pan, bring to boil then reduce on a low heat for 5-8 minutes. Add the cream and reduce until the sauce starts to thicken. Add whisky and season to taste.
To serve, first place the mash and confit turnip on the plate before topping with the haggis and finally the beef sauce.