Veggie Haggis for Burns Night

By Ceri x

I'm finally doing my first post on the Blog. I kept meaning to do it before, but didn't quite get round to it. I have a whole stuffed Salmon recipe that I made for the ladies when we went to a Burlesque caberet night for my Birthday in November which I will definitely put up one of these days as it's really good and a great meal when you are feeding lots of people.

However, I thought it would be better to start with more recent food events in the Keston Kitchen. January has been predominantly Scottish themed for me. I have been up to Glasgow twice for the Celtic Connections Music Festival. It's one of my favourite festivals of the year where I met some amazing people, saw some incredible music and generally had a brilliant time. We have also had Martin and Louise from near Aberdeen to stay for a week or so which has been great for us Keston dwellers as we get to hang out with them. Not so great for them as they are expecting a wee one, but it's been really nice to have them around. I've also stayed with my cousin Gareth and his wife Michelle (also expecting a wee one) in Johnstone, visited Largs, Milport on the Isle of Cumbrae and spied Arran from across the water.

So when the Keston Ladies told me they had an annual Burns night planned I was really pleased as it was proper in keeping with the theme. As a vegetarian in remission though, the idea of a haggis seemed a bit much for me. I loved the Christmas Ham that was previously posted and am working my way back into the world of meat, but I thought the haggis was slightly ambitious. I thought about buying one, but the idea of making one was much more appealing. I found a great recipe on the vegetarian society website, which is simple and tastes really good.

However, one of the things I love about cooking is the creativity. Any of my other posts are very unlikely to be as specific as this as this isn't my recipe. I tend to throw a load of things together, checking it along the way to make something work (a bit how I tend to do most things really) so anyone who likes to be precise about their cooking, I may not be the best Keston Kid to follow... :) I added a few extra bits to this including wholegrain mustard, worcester sauce (you can use Mushroom Ketchup if you are a strict vegetarian), chilli flakes and Whisky (of course!).


• 100g/4oz onion, peeled & finely chopped
• 15ml/1tbsp sunflower oil
• 50g/2oz carrots, very finely
• chopped
• 35g/11/2 oz mushrooms, finely chopped
• 50g/2oz red lentils
• 600ml/1pint vegetable stock
• 25g/1oz mashed, tinned red kidney beans
• 35g/11/2 oz ground peanuts
• 25g/1oz ground hazelnuts
• 30ml/2tbsp shoyu ( soy sauce)
• 15ml/1tbsp lemon juice
• 7.5ml/11/2tsp dried thyme
• 5ml/1tsp dried rosemary
• generous pinch cayenne pepper
• 7.5ml/11/2 tsp mixed spice
• 200g/8oz fine oatmeal
• Freshly ground black pepper


1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C, 375°F or Gas Mark 5
2. Sauté the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the carrot and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. Now add the lentils and three quarters of the stock.
4. Blend the mashed red kidney beans in the remaining stock, add these to the pan with the nuts, shoyu, lemon juice and seasonings.
Cook everything, well mixed together, for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Then add the oatmeal, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, adding a little extra liquid if necessary.
6. Turn the mixture into a lightly oiled 1lb loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes.
7. Serve with mashed neeps and tatties.
8. Enjoy with good friends, good whisky and a Scotsman to address the haggis as well as Martin. Guaranteed an enjoyable evening all round.

Posted in: Veggie options from the Kitchen