Crispy haggis and potato pancake with a spinach salad and warm whisky and bacon dressing Recipe

Crispy haggis and potato pancake with a spinach salad and warm whisky and bacon dressing Recipe

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 200g/7oz potatoes, peeled (roughly one potato per person)
  • 80g/3oz haggis, cut into two slices, at room temperature
  • 2 free-range eggs
  • 50g/1¾oz pancetta, finely chopped
  • 75g/2½oz baby spinach
  • 3 raw button mushrooms, very thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp grainy mustard
  • 1 tbsp whisky
  • freshly ground black pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  2. Grate the peeled potatoes into a clean tea towel using the large holes on the grater. Wrap the tea towel around the grated potato and squeeze to remove the moisture.
  3. Heat a blini pan (or a frying pan) over a medium heat and add about a tablespoon of the olive oil. When hot, place a heaped tablespoon of the dry grated potato in a mound in the pan and gently press down to form a neat circle. Leave to cook for a couple of minutes. Place a slice of haggis on top of each potato cake, then cover with another heaped tablespoon of grated potato and gently press down.
  4. Cook until crispy and golden (4-5 minutes), then very carefully turn and cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes. Blini pans make this job easier, but an alternative method is to cook them in a frying pan and cut out the neat finished rounds after cooking. Place in the oven for 5-6 minutes.
  5. Fry the eggs as you like them. I like mine cooked in a fair bit of olive oil over a high heat, so they go a bit crispy while keeping the yolk runny.
  6. To make the salad, in a pan set over a medium heat fry the pancetta until crisp in a little olive oil. Keep warm. Place the spinach, mushrooms, herbs and tomato in a bowl. When ready to serve, stir the warm pancetta through the salad.
  7. Combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and whisky into a dressing and vigorously shake. Drizzle over the salad, keeping a little back for serving.
  8. To serve, place the warm dressed salad on serving plates, topped with the haggis and potato pancakes and a fried egg. Grind over a little pepper and drizzle the remaining dressing around. Serve immediately.