The 5pm blog spent last night at the launch of a new book: The Macsween Haggis Bible.
Following in the footsteps of the Stornoway Black Pudding Bible and the Italian Sausage Bible, The Macsween Haggis Bible is a love letter to Scotland’s national dish.
It’s written by Jo Macsween, director and co-owner of the family-run Macsween haggis company, and it covers pretty much every aspect of the legendary delicacy along with the Macsweens’ involvement in haggis manufacture.
Burns Night
Obviously, haggis consumption will peak in a weeks time on Burns Night but Jo is keen to promote the idea of haggis as a food that can be eaten throughout the year.
To this end, the book has dozens of recipes for haggis. From haggis pancakes to haggis pizza via courgettes stuffed with veggie haggis, The Haggis bible has a recipe for pretty much every occasion.
Haggis hurling
One of the book’s funniest chapters comes right at the end. Under the heading of ‘A few things you maybe didn’t know about haggis’ it lists the appearance of haggis in one of Aristophanes’ plays and explores the finer points of haggis hurling.
Taken from the book, here’s a very easy recipe for haggis nachos:
Haggis nachos
What do you get if you spend a weekend in Orkney with a friend who loves haggis and chillies and is completely obsessed with Texan swing music? This is the happy result of spending time with the polymath that is Duncan McLean.
Serves 1–2 (I could very easily trough these all on my ownsome!)
130g packet ‘microwave in 60 seconds’ traditional haggis
Large bag of tortilla chips
Tub of guacamole
Jar of salsa
Tub of sour cream
Fresh coriander
Optional extras to consider:
jalapeño peppers, fresh chillies, grated cheddar
Heat the haggis in the microwave according to the instructions on the pack. Pour the tortilla chips onto a large plate. Dollop generous spoonfuls of guacamole and salsa over the chips and add a few jalapeño peppers if desired.
Once the haggis is piping hot, dot spoonfuls onto the top of the nachos, adding a few spoonfuls of sour cream and roughly chopped coriander to finish. Eat immediately (with beer).