A Burn's Night Veggie Haggis Wellington

Every Burn's Night we embrace the tradition of enjoying a haggis, tatties and neeps together (it must be the McDonald blood that courses through my family's veins!)  Being vegetarian is not an issue because I have a fabulous recipe for vegetarian Haggis packed with veggies, lentils, beans, nuts, spices and oatmeal, that is absolutely delicious.  Not a scrap of offal or a sheep's stomach in sight!

This year I decided to try something a little bit different and encase the haggis mixture inside puff pastry.  I topped the haggis with some grated Wensleydale cheese to keep it moist and cooked it at GM6 for 25 minutes.  It made a delicious change served with creamed potato, mashed swede and vegetables. It was also fabulous served cold.

I still remember being in grammar school and having to learn the Robert Burn's poem "My luve is like a red, red rose".  I can still recite it to this day and my rendition of it is my Burn's Night party piece, much to my kids' amusement (especially when I recite it with an attempted Scottish lilt!)

I really enjoy celebrating special days throughout the year and serving up themed meals for my family's dinner.   It makes me more mindful of the passing days and punctuates the year with plenty of memorable family occasions.  It's all done light heartedly with plenty of laughter and fun, but it still lets the kids learn about special events, other cultures and different cuisines.

I'm looking forward to sharing plenty more recipes and family occasions right here on my blog throughout 2015.

Homemade Vegetarian Haggis Recipe

Burn's Night is here and in my house that means an excuse for a special dinner.  I love punctuating the year by recognising all the 'special' days.  It gives me a bit of inspiration to cook something different and have a bit of themed fun with the family.

So I have made homemade vegetarian haggis using an adaption of the Vegetarian Society's recipe from 2001 using lots of veggies, lentils, pulses and nuts to make a very delicious haggis without a single sheep's stomach in sight!!  (It is all ready in the loaf tin to be cooked for tonight's dinner, so I've used photos from last year's haggis to illustrate this recipe.)

Vegetarian Haggis

Veggie Haggis Ingredients (makes a 1lb loaf)

4 oz chopped onion

4 oz chopped carrot

2 oz chopped mushrooms

2 oz red lentils

1 pint veggie stock

1 tin mashed kidney beans

3 oz mixed chopped nuts (I usesd peanut, cashew and hazelnuts)

2 tblspn soy sauce

1 tblspn lemon juice

2 teaspns thyme

2 teaspns rosemary

2 teaspns mixed spice

ground pepper

8 oz fine oatmeal

Method

Pre-heat oven to GM5.

Saute onion for 5 minutes, add carrot and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more.

Add lentils and three quarters of the stock.

Mash beans with remaining stock and add to pan with nuts, soy sauce, lemon juice and seasonings.

Cook together for 10 minutes.

Add oatmeal and simmer for 15 minutes.

Put into loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with tatties and neeps!!  We use Morrison's mashed carrot, swede and potato and then add some green veg like cabbage to the plate!  Top with gravy for a delicious, warming, healthy meal.  Here is last year's Burn's Night dinner!