Best recipe with haggis

Published on Tuesday 22 January 2008 19:33

HAGGIS, neeps and tatties form a timeless combination – but haggis works in other food cultures, too.

1 TEX MAC NACHOS: Heat haggis in microwave. Dollop generous spoonfuls of guacamole and salsa over bowl of tortilla chips. Add jalapeos. Once haggis is piping hot, dot spoonfuls on top of the nachos, adding a few spoonfuls of sour cream and roughly chopped coriander to finish.

2 HAGGIS TOSTADAS: Heat some haggis in the microwave. Heat some sunflower oil in a large frying pan. When fairly hot, add one flour tortilla and cook until a light golden colour on one side (less than 1 min). Add a generous sprinkling of haggis, salsa, sour cream, grated cheese and coarsely chopped coriander. Top with another flour wrap and heat until contents start to melt. Eat immediately.

3 PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS and VEGETARIAN HAGGIS:Pre-heat mushroom by grilling or baking it lightly for a few minutes. Mix vegetarian haggis with finely chopped tomato, red pepper, pine nuts and fresh herbs (eg parsley). Once mushroom is soft, turn it upside down and fill underside with haggis mixture. Top with cheese (haloumi/ grated parmesan) and grill or bake until hot and bubbling.

4 VEGETARIAN HAGGIS PAKORA: The batter – 2 cupfuls of gram flour; pinch of bicarbonate of soda; pinch of chilli powder; salt to taste; half crushed fresh ginger, 2 cloves crushed fresh garlic, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp whole coriander seeds, half tsp turmeric powder, fresh coriander, half tsp garam Marsala. Add water to the dry ingredients to form a smooth batter to coat the haggis. Leave to rest for ten minutes. Form vegetarian haggis into small balls, coat in batter and deep-fry in hot oil until golden and crispy. Drain and serve.

5 HAGGIS SPRING ROLLS: Add beansprouts, freshly chopped herbs and finely diced peppers to some haggis. Take small teaspoon amounts of the mixture and place on a double layer of filo pastry (pre-prepared by brushing with melted butter). Fold pastry round haggis into triangles or long spring rolls. Brush outside with melted butter. Bake in oven until the pastry is lightly brown. Serve as a starter.

Jo MacSween is head of customer care and marketing at MacSween of Edinburgh, a family business specialising in traditional haggis