burns-night-george-ovalJanuary 25 – Burns Night

Celebrated since 1801, the Burns Night dinners typically include haggis, Scotch whisky, and the recitation of Burns’s poetry.

Here are a couple of other easy recipes for you to make your evening complete:

(Don’t worry about George… He’s slimming!)

NEEPS & TATTIES

Neeps-and-Tatties

Ingredients:

8 large baking potato, washed, peel left on and cut into 2cm x 4cm chunks
6 tbsp light olive oil or sunflower
1 swede weighing about 675g (1 1/2lb), peeled and roughly chopped
50g butter, plus extra for serving

Directions:

  1. The day before you want to serve, preheat the oven to fan oven 200C/conventional 220C/gas 7. Put the potatoes into a pan of lightly salted water, return to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, put them back into the pan and place it back on the heat for a couple of minutes to dry out.
  2. Meanwhile, pour the oil into a large roasting tin (you may have to use two) and heat it in the oven until smoking hot. Now stir the potatoes into the hot oil and return to the oven to roast, turning occasionally, for 55 minutes.
  3. Cook the swede in boiling salted water for 50-55 minutes, or until very soft. Drain and add to the roasted potatoes. Roughly mash everything together, keeping quite chunky, then cool, cover and keep in a cool place.
  4. To serve, preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Uncover the potatoes and swede, dot with the butter and put in the oven to reheat for 25-30 minutes, stirring now and again until piping hot. Serve with lots of butter.

CRANACHAN

cranachan

Ingredients:

4oz/110g rolled oats or pinhead oatmeal
10floz/280ml double cream
11oz/300g crowdie or Quark
6 tbsp heather honey
5 tbsp whisky
1 bag frozen raspberries, defrosted

Directions:

  1. Put the oats in a large frying pan and cook over a medium high heat, stirring constantly, for 5-8 minutes until they turn brown and smell toasty.
  2. Tip on to a plate to cool.
  3. Lightly whip the double cream and mix with the cheese, which will make the cream stiffen up more.
  4. Roughly stir in 4 tbsp honey and all the whisky.
  5. Layer the cream, oats and raspberries in six glasses, finishing with a dribble of honey and a few raspberries.
  6. Eat immediately or keep in the fridge.