Easy Peasy Haggis Lasagne.

Want  to ‘wow’ your dinner guests with an Italian twist on our national dish? This recipe is for you. It’s hearty, it’s comforting, it doesn’t require any outstanding culinary skills and it’s… HAGGIS!  

“Do you eat haggis all the time in Scotland?”. A question I have been asked countless times on my travels or when guiding tours around Scotland. People are usually shocked to hear that the average household doesn’t serve haggis all that often. I mean, not when you compare it to carb-tastic pizza and pasta consumption in Italy, or say – curry in India.

Having grown up in Scotland, my view of haggis served with its traditional accompaniments is that it’s a bit boring. In fact, I used to avoid it thanks to those naughty ‘neeps’ (Scots for turnip).

I blame my former hatred of turnips on childhood trauma. When I was wee and innocent, my Mum used to spike my mashed potatoes with turnip, thinking that I wouldn’t notice. As if the yellow-tinged tatties and funny taste didn’t give it away! Her ploy to increase my vegetable intake didn’t fool me, and made me even more reluctant to ingest those awful things.

Now I’m older, slightly wiser, a LOT less fussy when it comes to food. Hello roasted turnip!

I do indulge in a traditional haggis meal, it has to be one of those fancy looking haggis-neeps-and-tatties towers doused in creamy, whisky sauce.

I love haggis, but there’s so much more you can do with it than the pubs on the Royal Mile would lead you to believe. Starting with… HAGGIS LASAGNE; a firm favourite of the main man Rabbie Burns, of course 😉

Okay, so they didn’t eat haggis lasagne back then, but if they did, Rabbie would’ve loved it! He’d probably have written a poem about it.

If you fancy giving it a bash, why not cook it yourself? Just follow my simple steps below to put your own twist on this Scottish dish.

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How to Make Haggis Lasagne.

*please note, I do not provide exact ingredients and strict instructions – it’s all ideas and a suggested sequence. Spread your wee wings*

2 x haggis of your choice

1 x can of chopped tomatoes

1 x packet of salad tomatoes

Lasagne sheets

Cheese

Bechamel sauce

Salt, pepper, herbs, to season.

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Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, soak your lasagne sheets in warm water, and follow the steps below.

Step 1. Get your hands right in about it, and crumble your haggis into wee pieces in a bowl or onto a tray (the total amount will be split between 3 layers).

Step 2. Take approx. 1/3 of the crumbled haggis and lie it along the bottom of your lasagne dish. Use a fork or your hands to spread evenly and create a layer. Top with sliced tomatoes* and season as you wish – I use sea salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder, Italian herbs and chilli flakes if you fancy a wee bit of a kick!

*you can use sliced salad tomatoes, cans of chopped tomatoes or Passata – all work well! I use two layers of sliced tomatoes and one layer of chopped tomatoes to add some moisture.

Step 3. Cover your first layer with lasagne sheets, and don’t worry about being too neat – I end up playing jigsaw with myself! Top with another 1/3 of haggis.

Step 4. Coat the middle layer of haggis with a can of chopped tomatoes and season again, as before. Repeat Step 3. and top your haggis with a final layer of sliced tomatoes. Season again and cover with the last layer of lasagne sheets.

RECAP = haggis, tomatoes, seasoning, lasagne sheets x 3

Step 5. This is where I should be instructing you on how to make your own white sauce. I would, if I hadn’t failed at it so many times, and realised that having a shop bought jar makes very little difference to the taste. Thank you Ragu!

Instead, I will advise you to open the jar (what would you do without me?) and pour the contents evenly over the lasagne sheets. Coat with a sprinkling of cheese, according to taste. Smoked cheddar is always a winner. I LOVE CHEESE.

Anyway…

Step 6. Bang it in the oven for 45 – 55 minutes, turning the dish occasionally. Serve with salad and bread of the garlic kind, just in case it’s not stodgy enough!

Simples.

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Is this something you would like to try?

Do you have any interesting haggis recipes you’d like to share?

Happy haggis munching,

Kay 💙