Haggis is perhaps the best known and most traditional of all Scottish foods. It is eaten at Hogmanay (New Years Eve) and is often served at banquets especially on St. Andrew's Day (30 November) and Robert Burns anniversay (25 January) dinners. Burns described it as the 'great chieftain of the puddin' race', and it is fact a large sausage-like pudding cooked in a sheep's pauch originally, but often nowadays made in a cloth or basin. It has been known since Roman times, and it thought to be derived from the French hachis - to chop. At banquets it is served to bagpipe music played by a kilted Highlander and it is traditional to drink a glass of neat whiskey with it. 1 cleaned sheep or lamb's pauch 2 lb. dry oatmeal 1 lb. chopeed mutton suet 1 lb. lamb's liver, boiled and minced 1 lamb's heart, boiled and minced 1 lamb's lights boiled and minced 1 large finely chopped onion 1/2 teaspoon each : cayenne pepper. ground allspice, salt and pepper 1 pint stock See that the paunch is well cleaned, then soak it in salt and water for about 2 hours, take out and let dry. Put the oatmeal on a baking tray in a low oven and let it dry out and crisp up a little. Then cook the liver, heart (trimmed) and lights in salted water to cover and cook for about 1/2 hour. Strain, but reserve the stock, and chop the meats up finely, or mince. Mix all ingredients (except the paunch) together and season well. Then add the stock. Put into the clean paunch (fill to about half) and sew up loosely, but securely. Have ready a large pot of boiling water mixed with the rest of the liver stock, prick the haggis all over with a small knitting needle to prevent bursting, then cook in the water and stock, at a slow simmer uncovered, but keep up water level, for about 3 hours. |
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