Scottish or not Burns's birthday is an excuse to liven up a January day

Burns was born fortuitously on the 25th of January 1759, Scottish or not his arrival in the world is an excuse to liven up a potentially dreigh January day.

The first Burns supper was held at the family cottage, in the village of Alloway near Ayr, by Burns’s friends, on 21 July 1801, the fifth anniversary of his death. It has been a regular occurrence ever since across the globe.

Haggis is at the centre of any Burns supper. Traditionally haggis is a peasant dish made by boiling lamb’s pluck (heart, lungs and liver), chopping it and mixing it with oats, suet and spices. The mixture is pressed into an ox stomach lining, tied and simmered for a couple of hours in water. Nowadays offal plays a bit part and the lining tends to be synthetic. Bring back the good old fashioned way I say! There are a few butchers here that make haggis and it’s worth sussing them out. Supermarkets also stock it at this time of year. The haggis is brought to the table and the address to the haggis is made with the immortal line “Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the pudding-race!” before everyone tucks in. Another tradition is to say the Selkirk Grace before the meal – “Some hae meat an canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit”.

Rather than doing a haggis the recipe here is for a Haggis Cottage pie and I think it’s more of a crowd pleaser. The haggis is cooked with sausage meat and vegetables then braised and topped with a creamy turnip mash that has fried onions running through it. Everything in one dish.

For pudding I’ve included a recipe for Clootie Dumpling. Clootie means a cloth and a suet, spice and dried fruit mixture is wrapped in muslin, tied and steamed. Recipes call for regular breadcrumbs but I use Veda, that true Ulster Scots bread, crumbs. It gives the pudding a lovely malty finish. When the puddings ready, unwrap, slice and I’ve added recipe for whiskey custard to pour over.

Whiskey is a vital part of any Burns supper especially for toasting the haggis. I’ve added a recipe for a Bobby Burns cocktail where whiskey is combined with sweet vermouth and Benedictine liqueur. The liquors are stirring over ice and poured into another glass. The perfect drink to have with the food.

Happy Burns Night!!