HAGGIS PASTIES

I wanted to come up with a recipe for my junior bakers for Burns Night and this worked out really well with some great results.  The majority of my students had never tried haggis before but they all went home converts, success!

200g Plain Flour

100g Butter

Water to mix

1 tbsp Oil

1 Onion chopped

100g Swede grated

250g Haggis

Apple Sauce

Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour till there are no lumps then add the water to form a smooth dough.  Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge till ready to use.

In a frying pan heat the oil then add the chopped onion and cook till soft but not coloured.  Now add the grated swede and cook till this starts to soften.  Lastly ass the haggis, use a fork to crumble it up into the mixture and cook till it becomes soft, about 5 minutes.

Roll out the pastry and cut large disks, approximately 12cm across.  Brush the edges with water, place a tablespoon of the haggis onto each centre and top with a teaspoon of apple sauce.  Fold the pastry in half and crimp to seal.

Brush with a little milk and bake for 15-20 minutes at 180C till golden.

BURNS NIGHT HAGGIS PIE

This Saturday is Burns Night which celebrates the life of the Scottish poet Robert Burns.  In England this means we suddenly get an influx of haggis in our supermarkets which is good news as far as I'm concerned cos I think it's extremely tasty, quite cheap and goes a long way.  I'm well aware that some people have the fear of haggis but you really should give it a go.

Haggis is traditionally served with neeps and tatties,  turnips and potatoes, so I've come up with this pie which incorporates all three.

BURNS NIGHT PIE

350g Plain Flour
175g Butter
Water to mix
OR 500g Shortcrust Pastry

1tbsp Oil
1 Onion chopped
1 Haggis
1tbsp Plain Flour
500ml Stock
1 Large Potato
1 Turnip

Make your pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour till there are no lumps then add water to form a soft  dough.  Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge till you need it.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onion.  Cook till soft and translucent.  Now split open the haggis and crumble it into the pan with the onion.  Break the haggis up as you cook till you have a mixture resembling mince.  Sprinkle over the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Lastly add the stock and stir to make a thick gravy.

Line an 8" loose bottom cake tin with the pastry leaving a slight overhang.  If possible use a mandolin to slice the potato and turnip into wafer thin slices or do this by hand.  Now layer your pie. Starting with a layer of potato then turnip then cover with the haggis mixture.  Continue with two more layers and end with the potato and turnip.  This will help stopping the pastry from getting soggy.

Brush the edge of the pastry with a little water and top the pie with the remaining pastry and seal firmly before trimming off the excess.  Brush with beaten egg then bake for 45-50 minutes at 180C fan till golden brown.  Leave to cool slightly in the tin before removing it.