Haggis and Clapshot Pie

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some would eat that want it

But we hae meat, and we can eat,

Sae let the lord be thankit.

By Robert Burns

Combining all your ingredients in a pie is a bit different from the usual ceremonial Burns night dinner with the address to the haggis and the nip of whisky but if you lead a busy life you can make and freeze it beforehand. If you are freezing it add 1 egg yolk to the mash. (defrost overnight). Try it with a nip of whisky.

Clapshot is an Orcadian dish of swede and potato mash traditionally made with dripping but I prefer to use butter. The addition of lots of freshly milled black pepper and chives makes it the perfect accompaniment to haggis.

Makes 1 large or 4-6 smaller pies

For the pastry
2 oz cold butter, cubed   
2 oz cold white cooking fat, cubed
8 oz plain flour
Pinch each of salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp chilled water

Rub the fats into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add salt and pepper.

Add the water 1 tbsp at a time to form a firm dough. Rest the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Roll the dough out on a floured surface, to the thickness of a £1 coin.

Use to line a 20cm pie tin (or 4-6 smaller tins) prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 7-9 minutes until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

For the haggis
300 g haggis, cooked to instructions or peel the skin off and cut into slices and microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes. Leave to cool and drain on kitchen paper.

For the Clapshot

500 g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
500 g turnip (swede) peeled and cut into chunks
50 g butter
2 tbsp chopped chives
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 egg yolk (if freezing)

Boil the turnip and potatoes in separate pots, in salted water until tender.

Drain and place in a large bowl. Add the butter, pepper and if using it, the egg yolk. Beat with a hand held electric mixer until smooth.

To assemble the pie

Crumble the haggis evenly over the base of the pie crust. Pile on the clapshot.

Bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes until the top is golden then remove the pie from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.