Here a recipe from a lower-case only vegetarian, presumably a texter, duly corrected. I had the pleasure of eating Vegetarian Haggis at the 200th Burn's Night in Zurich and enjoyed it very much. Haggis is traditionally eaten with "tatties and neeps" which are boiled potatoes and turnips mashed with butter and, should need be, diluted just a little with a dram of milk. VEGETARIAN HAGGIS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "This is a very hearty, tasty and satisfying dish in a rustic, rib-sticking, brutish, peasantish way. A treat indeed!" PROLOGUE/DEFINITIONS/HISTORY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Without this, you can't appreciate what you are about to create and eat Haggis: "A Scottish dish consisting of a mixture of the minced heart, lungs, and liver of a sheep or calf mixed with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings and boiled in the stomach of the slaughtered animal." Now doesn't that sound good? Good like a sharp stick in the eye. I suppose the first question that pops to mind is "WHY?!! Why on earth would you want to veganize what sounds like "a deep-rooted perversity stemming from a too early toilet training related trauma" - Indeed sounding like one of the worst dishes in the world? But I was intrigued. Haggis. What a name! What a face! What a shape! It brings to mind that episode of Cook's Tour when Tony goes to Scotland and samples the local haggis. veggies, steel cut oats, herbs. Really, except for the gory garbage bits, it sounded pretty good. And believe it or not, there are lots of vegan recipes for haggis drifting around out there on the internet. I picked out a likely looking suspect from veg-web and, suffering from ADD <*> and unable to follow directions for more than three lines, I changed a few things. I added garlic, because I like garlic. I omitted vegetarian "suet" (Crisco, margarine, whatever) completely, because I don't like greasy stuff and I threw in a bit more veggies and some burger crumbles, as I like them also. And here is the scary part - I really LIKED IT A LOT. This haggis is a nice whole-grain stuffing-like concoction baked in a casserole dish. The lentils cook down to a nice, creamy, earthy base that really work magic with the woodsy flavor of the mushrooms. The steel cut and rolled oats provide a creamy mouth-feel. The pearl barley perks things up with a slightly chewy and popping textural counterpoint. The burger crumbles (Gimme Lean Sausage was my "crumble" of choice) adds a bit of authenticity. The minced vegetables flavour and colour the grains beautifully. The Vegemite imparts a really deep down rich and "beefy" note, and the herbs round off the flavour. Finally, the lemon, which I added after the cooking (contrary to instructions), really brightened up the dish in a subtle yet crucial way. I imagine the addition of fresh minced parsley after cooking could also bring in a fresh note and some extra prettiness to this homey and homely dish. The meat eater, after I begged, cajoled, prodded and threatened him with no cookies for a week, finally tasted a tiny bite. "It's surprisingly good", he said, then quickly backtracked once he saw the "maniacal haggis-every-night-for-a-month gleam" in my eye. "I mean, it's no treat or anything..." I must disagree. This is a very hearty, tasty and satisfying dish in a rustic, rib-sticking, brutish, peasantish way. I thought it was a treat indeed. For more information about the infamously mocked and maligned haggis, check out Wikipedia. the entry is rife with interesting facts about Haggis' history in addition to Haggis-related sporting events such as Haggis hurling. And don't forget to mark your calendars for Burns Night (January 25th), an evening to honor Scotland's Baird (their native son and poet) Robert burns with a Burns supper. From what I gather, this is an excuse for a bunch of drunken, Burns-reciting ne'er do wells, to gather 'round a Haggis, make merry and have a "wee-dram or two", as my friend's seventy-something year old Scottish aunt used to whisper to us as she pulled out the well-worn flask from the pocket of her tattered housecoat - "Ta keep ya' warm". HAGGIS ====== INGREDIENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/4 cup Red lentils 1/4 cup Barley 1/4 cup Green or brown lentils 3/4 steel-cut Oats (e.g. Irish oats or pinhead oats) 1/4 cup Oatmeal (not instant) 2 tspns Marmite or Vegemite* 1 tblsp Soy sauce 1 tspn each Thyme, rosemary, onion powder and sage 1 tspn Black pepper - freshly ground 1/3 cup Parsley - freshly minced 1-2 Carrots, minced 2 cloves Garlic 1 Onion, minced 2 cups Mushrooms, minced 1/4 cup Scotch (whiskey) - or more! 1 cup Veggie burger crumbles of your choice** (I used Gimme Lean Sausage) 2 cups Vegetable stock or water 1/2 Juice of half a lemon * Vegemite or Marmite are both (contrary to urban legend) totally vegan. It has a very strong and salty flavor and I use it often in soups and stews where I want a beefy flavor. A little goes a long way so add it bit by bit. If you can't find these products locally you may want to use a stronger, darker vegetable broth (I prefer to bouillon) and/or some vegetarian Worcester(-shire) sauce (speak: WUSS-TER-Soars). **you can omit or replace with equivalent amount of chopped walnuts METHOD ~~~~~~ Place lentils, barley and steel-cut oats in a saucepan and cover with water by about 1/2 inch. Simmer (covered) for about 20 mins adding more water if necessary to prevent scorching. Set aside. Mince carrots, onion, mushrooms, parsley and garlic, or coarsely chop and whiz a few times in a food processor. Add the cooked grains, minced vegetables, and everything else into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Place in a covered casserole dish and bake for 40-60 minutes at 350f. Check every 20 minutes or so and add more water if necessary. (Thanks to http://bunnyfoot.blogspot.com/2006/05/haggis.html) <*>ADD = Attention Deficit Disorder "I am a Haggis, hear me roar..."