Haggis, Neeps And Tattie Pie

If you do not know what a ‘haggis’ is, nor a ‘neep’ nor a ‘tattie’ then you obviously do not come from Scotland. This is a traditional and homely pie made from left over haggis, a lamb and offal mince, topped off with neeps, which are turnips (and swedes) and tatties, or potatoes. To the uninitiated this is a great surprise, a really satisfying pie with earthy root vegetables and dense meat flavours – now very rarely made, and almost impossible to buy.

Ever the bridesmaid and never the bride … come New Year’s Day, or on Burn’s Night, or on St. Andrews Day this is what you should make with the leftovers on the next day; yet this is still a special and heart-warming dish to make. The sort of traditional recipe that the Highland Scots grew up with in the 1800s and early 1900s.

You can of course nowadays buy an authentic and quality made traditional Haggis from a specialist food company for use in this recipe, (although if you are outside the UK a traditionally made Scottish Haggis is not able to be exported because of the type of meat content it is made with) but making your own Haggis and using the left overs in this pie brings with it the reward of supreme satisfaction, bringing you closer to what was done by those brawny Scots farmers and canny wives on a regular, if not a seasonal, basis, for hundreds of years.

To make a traditional haggis to use in this dish see this recipe: Traditional Scottish Haggis Recipe.

Haggis, Neeps And Tattie Pie Recipe

Serves 6

Prepare the haggis in advance using the given recipe link below, then cut it up or mince it fine. This pie is usually made with left over haggis so it is perfect to make after Burns Night etc.

Recipe Ingredients:

For The Pastry

• 500g Plain flour
• 120g Lard
• 120g Butter
• 120ml Water
• 120ml Milk
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Eggs, beaten to glaze

For The Pie

• 400g of a Traditional Haggis – prepare this in advance and mince up fine
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 225g swede, peeled and coarsely grated
• 225g turnips, peeled and coarsely grated
• 225g potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 150ml of lamb or beef stock

Recipe Method:

The Pastry:

Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl, sprinkle in the sea salt and ground black pepper – then make a well in the centre.

In a saucepan gently heat the water and milk, then add in the lard and butter – stir until they have melted – then bring the liquid rapidly to the boil. Pour immediately into the well in the flour in the mixing bowl and draw the ingredients together with a wooden spoon to form a soft, pliable but not too sticky ball of dough. Add a little bit of water if too dry, or add a little bit of flour if too wet.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead very gently until it is smooth and elastic – it is not like kneading bread dough, be gentle to distribute all the ingredients evenly throughout the dough. Put the dough in a bowl and cover – leave to rest for 20-30 minutes – then chill in a fridge for an hour or two.

Making The Pie:

Lightly grease a round, deep pie dish (20 cm x 5 cm deep)

Par boil the diced potatoes in some salted water in a saucepan for 10 minutes then leave to drain.

Take the pastry out of the fridge 10 minutes before you want to use it. Break off a third of the pastry and reserve for the top of the pie crust.

Roll two-thirds of the prepared pastry out onto a lightly floured work top, make it circular in shape and about 1 cm thick. Cut out a circle in the rolled pastry which will fill the base of the prepared pie dish. Work the pastry into the base so that it fully fits, and overhangs the rim a little – trim off any major excess pastry hanging over the sides of the dish. Make sure the pastry base is thick enough and without any tears or holes when placed in the pie dish so that liquid cannot seep out when baking.

Into a mixing bowl put the finely chopped onions, the grated swede and turnip and the small diced potato, season with pepper and salt and then fully mix in.

Into the base of the pie dish layer in an amount of prepared minced haggis over the pastry – then on top add a layer of the mixed vegetables from the bowl – then add another layer of haggis – then another layer of mixed vegetables – and so on until the pie is filled. Finally pour over the fresh beef stock.

Preheat the oven to 200C

Brush some of the beaten egg around the edge of the pastry in the pie dish, to help seal the Haggis, Neeps And Tattie Pie lid when it is put on.

Roll out the reserved third of the pastry to make a pie lid (or top crust). Put the pie pastry lid on and seal the edges together (the pastry lid with the pastry base) with a crimping technique, or use the back of a fork.

Make two small slits in the middle of the pie lid to vent steam. Brush over the top of the pie crust with beaten egg. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet or tray (so that if any liquid seeps out of the pie when baking can be caught).

Bake in the oven at 200C for 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown – 5 minutes before the end brush over with a little more beaten egg and place back in the oven to finish off. After 40 minutes serve the Haggis, Neeps And Tattie Pie either hot or cold.