Vegetarian Haggis

Ingredients:

1 carrot, scraped and finely chopped
1 small piece of swede (yellow turnip), very finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8 open cap mushrooms, finely diced (portobello mushrooms are best)
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g whole mixed nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, walnuts)
45g dry red lentils, picked over, washed and drained
600ml vegetable stock
70g cooked red kidney beans, mashed
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper (be generous with this to give a decent 'bite')
1 tbsp soy sauce
190g fine oatmeal
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
olive oil for frying

Method:

Arrange the nuts in a single layer on a baking tray. Place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and toast for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown (but take care they do not burn). Turn into a bowl and allow to cool then grind quite coarsely (do not grind to finely).

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pan. Add the onion and fry for 1 minute then add the carrot, swede, mushrooms and garlic and continue frying for 5 minutes more. At this point add the lentils and 200ml of the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Blend the kidney bean paste with the remaining stock and work into the liquid in the pan along with the nuts, soy sauce, sea salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 12 minutes.

At this point, stir in the oatmeal, return to a simmer and continue cooking for 15 minutes more (add more water if necessary). The final mixture should be loose and moist, but not runny. Now take off the heat and stir in the lime juice.

Spoon the resultant mixture into a lightly greased loaf tin (about 12 x 22cm). Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 190°C and bake for about 30 minutes, or until set and lightly brown on top.

Serve hot accompanied by clapshot and mushroom gravy or red wine sauce.

Find more classic Burns Night recipes here.