Haggis. Much maligned by those who don’t eat it, this offally delicious treat is only for those with discerning tastes. Because, quite frankly, if you’re not going to enjoy it, we’re glad it won’t be wasted on you. But, if you have great taste and you live on your own, or the rest of your family is veggie, you’ll probably find, like me, that one haggis could feed a small family, which means there’s enough left after one portion to stuff a wicker man.
But that’s a good thing.
A quick skim through the internet reveals there are at least 25 recipes out there for using up haggis, and most of them seem to abandon its Scottish roots and make for the sun, with such tasty suggestions as haggis lasagne, haggis samosas, and haggis pakoras.
But haggis has a very distinct flavour, reminiscent of mutton, and even when it’s peppery, it isn’t spiced beyond standard pre-chicken tikka British tastes. To me, tipping it into a lasagne, flavoured with tomato and basil, or deep frying it in a warm jacket of gram batter and curry umami, is disrespectful of the mighty haggis. Its delicate flavour lost, I see no point in it, and adding all that gunge in a lasagne will surely make the “mouthfeel” weird.
So: haggis arancini was my catch of the day, and a good ‘un it was too. Okay, it’s still Italianesque, but no Italian ‘erbs will touch this baby.
Haggis Arancini Recipe
Leftover mashed potato – about two handfuls
Leftover haggis – about two-thirds of the haggis, but see how much you can get into the potato without it falling apart.
1 egg – beaten
Dried breadcrumbs or rice crumbs
250ml sunflower or coconut oil
Method
- Loosen up the mash with your fingers in a medium-sized bowl, and add about half the haggis.
- Mush everything together until evenly mixed. Check you can make balls out of the mix. If so, add a little more haggis, mix, and recheck.
- Keep adding more haggis for as long as a) you have some left and b) the mix still clags together. The aim is to have balls that taste like haggis, not mashed potato.
- Once you have a satisfyingly haggisy mixture, create balls about 1-2 inches in diameter. The larger they are, the longer they will take to cook, but don’t make them too small or they may dry out and become hard.
- I got 9 balls out of my mixture.
- Beat your egg in a bowl, and pour out some breadcrumbs on a plate.
- Roll the haggis balls in the egg, let it drain in your fingers, and then roll it around the breadcrumbs plate till covered.
- I did this process twice, to ensure a good coat, but I doubt that’s really necessary (my egg was huge, so I used it up this way). Lay the arancini on a plate as you work.
- Pour about 5mm oil in the bottom of a frying pan, and heat till just under smoking point.
- Add about 4-5 arancini to the hot oil, and roll those babies around for about 5-7 minutes. We’re going for golden brown, not blackened. When you get to the colour of builders’ tea, that’s it!
- Test one, by cutting it in half. It should be steaming on the inside, nice and hot throughout. If it isn’t, back into the pan it goes! (I re-batttered the cut halves on my tester).
- Serve alone, or with a tiny side of veg (I used up the cachumber from yesterday’s curry), and a large portion of homemade tomato ketchup.
Soulsubsistence 