Vegan haggis recipe
Having moved to Scotland nearly 30 years ago I had no option but to embrace the haggis. And I must admit I do love a good haggis. As I have tried to eat less meat I have bought vegetarian haggis occasionally and then started wondering if I could make my own. I am always looking for less processed options, and cooking your own food is the simplest way to make your diet less processed. I tried out a few recipes and had a look at what the shop bought ones contained and after a number of experiments this is the one I now make. Let me know how you find it and if you have any suggestions for improvements.

Ingredients - serves 4.
- Tablespoon of olive oil.
- Half an onion finely chopped.
- Clove of garlic (chopped) or equivalent easy garlic.
- Chopped chilli or equivalent easy chilli (optional).
- 1 carrot.
- Half a leek.
- Quarter courgette.
- Half a yellow or red pepper.
- Three or 4 mushrooms.
- A few green beans.
- Half a tin of green lentils.

12. Half a tin of mixed beans.
13. 100g pinhead oatmeal.
14. 2 teaspoons of ground coriander.
15. Three quarters teaspoon of cracked black pepper.
16. Teaspoon of mixed herbs.
17. Teaspoon of marmite.
18. Vegetable stock cube.
I have given one of the combinations of vegetables I use, but you can use other vegetables that soften easily such as celery, sugar snap peas, etc. Don't be afraid to play around with the vegetables! Haggis is usually very peppery, so do taste and adjust the pepper to suit you.
Method
- Turn on the oven to 190 degrees (fan) or equivalent.
- Grease a small loaf tin (1lb).
- Warm the olive oil in a saucepan and then fry the chopped onion, garlic and chilli for about 5 minutes until slightly softened.
- Chop the remaining vegetables and add them to the pan.
- Continue to fry them gently for about 10 minutes until softened, stirring regularly.


6. Drain and rinse the tins of lentils and mixed beans.
7. Add half a tin of the drained lentils and half a tin of the mixed beans to the saucepan and stir well.
8. Add 100g pinhead oatmeal and stir well.
9. Dissolve the vegetable stock cube in 250ml of boiling water.
10. Add the marmite to the hot stock.
11. Add this stock to the pan, with the mixed herbs, ground coriander and pepper.
12. Cook for 15 minutes stirring regularly. You may need to add a little more water if it gets very dry and sticky.


12. Transfer the mix to the greased tin.
13. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes. The top will have dried, and the mixture will have firmed up.
14. Serve with mashed swede (neeps) and mashed potato (tatties).
15. Enjoy your haggis, neeps and tatties and raise a toast to Robert Burns!
