Overview:
By: Antonia
Meal Type: Main Course
Cook time: 3 hours
Servings: 3
Description:
This traditional Burns Night dish is easy to prepare in Aga range cookers – in fact, you can cook everything slowly in the simmering oven, leaving you free to do other things.
Haggis is already cooked, so you just need to heat it through, ensuring it is piping hot.
There is sometimes a little confusion as to what ‘neeps’ are – outside Scotland, ‘neeps’ are known as swede.
This guide is for a standard small sized haggis which feeds 2-3 people but I’ve included directions for larger haggis too. Use the same method for vegetarian haggis which is excellent and delicious.
You'll need...
Ingredients:
Equipment...
Method:
For the haggis
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Remove haggis from the fridge in advance and allow to come to room temperature. Remove any outer packaging but keep the casing intact. Wrap firmly and securely in foil and place in the simmering oven (either in a roasting tin or simply on the floor of the oven). Cook for 2.5-3 hours, until piping hot.
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For a larger haggis, cook for longer! Put into the simmering oven at lunchtime to be ready for dinner. If you haven’t got this much time, start the haggis in the roasting oven: wrap in foil, place in a roasting tin and hang from the bottom runners in the roasting oven and cook for 20 minutes before transferring to the simmering oven for 2.5-3 hours.
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Alternative method:
If you have a baking oven, wrap the haggis in foil as above and place in a half-size ‘fits on runners’ roasting tin. Pour water into the tin so that it comes halfway up the haggis. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or according to instructions, until piping hot.
For the whisky sauce
- Melt the butter in a frying pan on the simmering plate. Add the shallots and cook until soft and translucent.
- Pour in the whisky and bubble for a few minutes to reduce before adding the stock and mustard. Finally, pour in the double cream and stir to combine. Serve hot.
For the neeps and tatties
- Peel the swede/neeps and cut into 2cm cubes. Place in a pan of water and bring to the boil on the boiling plate. Boil for 5 minutes and then drain off all the water. Cover with a lid and place on the floor of the simmering oven. Cook here for 40 minutes, or until soft. Mash with a generous knob of butter and plenty of salt and pepper.
- Peel the potatoes and cut into even-sized chunks. Place in a pan and cover with water – bring to boil on boiling plate and boil for 5 minutes before draining off the water, covering with a lid and transferring to the simmering oven floor for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Mash with a generous knob of butter, a splash of milk or cream and plenty of salt and pepper.
Aga range cooker tips:
- It is always worth removing food from the fridge a little while before placing in the oven. Fridge cold food (especially large pieces of meat) will naturally take longer to cook and also temporarily lower the temperature of the ovens. If you forget to do this, remember to increase the cooking times to ensure the haggis is piping hot.
- Cooking root vegetables in the simmering oven works extremely well. Potatoes, celeriac, parsnips and swede can all be cooked in this way. Always boil for a few minutes on the boiling plate first to ensure they are hot through before draining off the water and covering with a lid – the vegetables will then steam in the warmth of the simmering oven.
This fun family recipe has been scribed and tested by community member Antonia, who is a hard working mum with two boys. Her recipes are trialed in her much loved Aga range cooker and devoured by her family, allowing Antonia to provide accurate tips and advice on how to make the dishes a success! Go check her work out! She is a country girl, happily surrounded by an excitable Lab, her dear husband, two boys and the Cotswolds.
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