Wednesday 27 January 2010

A Wee Scottish Brekkie

Our haggis burst.

One second merrily bobbing away in barely simmering water, the next spilling its mealy guts into the pan. The pale casing constricted, growing opaque as it exuded its contents into what was seconds before clear water.

I fished out the quarter sized haggis, sliced it down the centre, spooned out the insides and plated it up onto a pile of buttery mash and roasted carrots. Underneath was a slick of creamy chicken velouté. I’d read somewhere that a whiskey based sauce was terribly gauche. Strictly for tourists only.

The meal was delicious enough for us both to comment that we should certainly be eating haggis more regularly and rue the fact that there was considerably less on the plate than there should be.

But what of the remainder, currently swelling and clouding the water in a pan on the hob?



The water was sieved and the resultant sludge strained overnight. By morning the swollen oats had turned sticky transforming the gloop into something resembling a cake. Some was spooned into the cats’ bowls – cupboards bereft of feline food - the rest moulded into a neat patty and fried in a little oil before being crowned with a poached egg.

The breakfast of Scottish champions. Which explains an awful lot.

5 comments:

Alicia Foodycat said...

The whiskey sauce is gauche, but it tastes good!

I usually do my haggis in the oven, with a bit of water and covered in foil, to prevent bursting.

This is a cracking breakfast - I must get some more haggis and give it a go!

Sandy Smith said...

My cat is jealous. And that's one FINE looking poached egg! Nicely done.

Hungry Jenny said...

What a beautifully written story! Despite the mishap!

Hungry Jenny x

Tracy (Amuse-bouche for Two) said...

Note to self: learn to poach eggs. Yours is quite lovely.

we are never full said...

i want haggis! i wish we could get it easily here in the states. stick and egg on anything and i'm game.