Cooking with booze: Burns Night – Highland stew – Recipe and cocktails

Photo by Jun

I may not have an ounce of Scottish blood in me, but I’m always up for a good knees up, especially one that involves whisky. While many people will be tucking into the haggis this Burns Night, you may want an alternative dish to devour while you’re mumbling your way through Auld Lang Syne after one dram too many. 

I won’t commit the mortal sin of calling this a pie when it’s a stew with a puff pastry top, that’s for the gastro pubs of this world to do. But it is a very tasty Highland stew with puff pastry top, and is the perfect dish to serve this Burns Night.

Highland stew with neeps and tatties
(Serves four)

Ingredients

Stew

900g stewing beef (two packets)
100g smoked lardons
500ml stout
200ml ruby port
2 large white onions
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp flatleaf parsley
5 pickled walnuts (and 2 tbsp pickled walnut vinegar)
60g butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain flour
Salt and pepper

Puff pastry top

Ready rolled puff pastry

Neeps and tatties

Half a swede
16 new potatoes
Butter

Method

1. Marinate your beef in the stout, with the garlic and bay leaves for around five hours in the fridge, or overnight if possible.

2. Preheat the oven (fan) to 130°C.

3. In a large pan, heat the oil and butter.

4. On a medium-high heat, brown and seal the beef. Once browned, remove and set aside.

5. In the same pan, fry the bacon and onions until the onions are soft and translucent.

6. Stir in the flour and mix, then add the port, stout marinade, beef, and season.

7. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole dish, fit the lid, and cook for 2.5hours in the oven, stirring occasionally.

8. Remove from the oven and pop back on the hob, so you can cook your puff pastry tops. Halve the pickled walnuts and add to the stew, along with the pickling vinegar. Simmer for around 30minutes. 9. Add the chopped parsley just before serving.

Neep and tatties

1. Roughly chop the swede into large chunks and boil for 50minutes.

2. Parboil the potatoes for 10minutes in salted water.

3. Pop the potatoes into the oven with the stew for 15minutes, then turn the heat up to 200°C when the stew comes out and roast for 30-35minutes.

4. Drain the swede and roughly mash together with a decent amount of butter.

Puff pastry tops

1. Unroll the puff pastry and cut into shape

2. Pop in the oven for 10-15minutes until golden brown

Drinks

If you don’t fancy a night on the drams, here are a couple of loosely-Scottish cocktails (they feature whisky), to get you in the mood.

Scotch Old Fashioned 

While rye or bourbon are the 'proper' choices for an Old Fashioned, it's Burns Night, so we're heading away from the whiskey and hitting the whisky. Granted, you're not going to want to use the Belvenie 50-year-old single malt you've all got lying around, but a smooth, clean, not-too-peaty, Scotch will work great.

Ingredients
50ml Scotch whisky
3/4tsp light brown sugar
A few dashes of Angostura bitters
Orange peel
A little patience

Method
1. Soak the sugar in the Angostura and begin to dissolve with a spoon.
2. Add a good handful of ice cubes and continue to stir.
4. Add around half the whisky and keep stirring.
5. Add the rest of the Scotch and stir some more.
6. Stir for another couple of minutes.
7. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.

Haig Clubman

For those of you who might not be quite into your whisky yet, this is an easy, light, accessible drink to start with. We can work you up to the Laphroaig in a couple of months...!

Ingredients
50ml Haig Club
35ml Appletiser
6 dashes ginger bitters

Combine all the ingredients in a highball or tumbler, with plenty of ice, and garnish with a very thin slice of root ginger.

How will you be celebrating this Burns Night? Hitting the haggis or using the night as an excuse to pull out that tasty Scotch?