A Burns Supper Message with Recipes!
By Jane Torrance, Chair, Scottish Society of Ottawa
Table setting at Jane’s
Here at the Scottish Society of Ottawa, we are all pretty excited about our virtual presentation of our 3rd annual Gala Burns Supper and Ceilidh, although disappointed that we had to cancel the home delivery of the meal itself. As Chair of the Society, I really hope that you will take advantage of the meal offered by The Glen, but if you chose to cook yourself, I am pleased to share my own recipes, listed below, from my own personal Burns Supper.
Our Burns celebration is usually a very fun night at our house here in Almonte! We used to attend our local Burns Supper at the Legion, hosted by the North Lanark Highland Games, and we loved the tradition and food, the toasts and the friendship. The NLHG stopped hosting the Supper, so we started hosting ourselves, although we are limited to 12 around our dining room table because we have no more chairs!
We now look forward to many Burns Suppers in January and our own SSO does such a fantastic job. And here in my hometown the Almonte Legion Pipe Band has also taken up the tradition, PLUS our home version of the tribute to the Bard.
Our home Burns Supper follows the traditional running order, starting with piping in of the guests and welcome, The Selkirk Grace, the piping-in and the Address to the Haggis and the Toast to the Haggis, followed by the meal itself served with lots of wine, followed by The Immortal Memory, the Toast to “The Lassies” and the Reply. We have various entertainments interspersed (usually recitation of Burns’ poetry or the occasional Burns’ song) and each person at the table plays a part, even when they only discover their part when they sit down and find their assignment under their dinner plate! We end the evening with arms joined, singing Auld Lang Syne, and then we drink more wine and whisky! And yes, sometimes more piping if anyone is able.
Whatever your own traditions, and however you decide to celebrate Burns this year, hopefully you will bring the SSO along by watching our virtual celebration, and together we can enjoy a good dram and some fine poetry. Watch for links on our social media channels and on our website. If these recipes come in handy in that celebration, then remember:
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be Thankit!
Slàinte Mhath!
A Burns Supper for 4
Starters
A charcuterie board with cheeses, smoked Scottish salmon, small sausage rolls, whisky mustard, oat cakes etc. served with some nice Scottish ales.
Cock-a-Leekie Soup
4 pounds chicken
8 cups stock
2 tbsp butter
3-4 chopped leeks
1 tsp brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
3 tbsp parsley
3/4c rice
½ cup chopped prunes
Boil the chicken in water for a few hours to make stock. I always add salt, pepper, onion, and celery to the pot at the start for good flavour. Remove meat from chicken, cube, and set aside; discard bones and any remaining vegetables. If you don’t end up with 8 cups of stock, have a carton of chicken stock on hand to top up. If you don’t have time to make the stock from scratch, poach chicken in 8 cups of boxed broth, remove chicken, cube, and set aside.
In large soup pot, melt a little butter and fry leeks until soft; cover and cook 5 minutes.
Add stock and meat to pot; bring to a boil.
Add rice, seasoning, and prunes and simmer until rice is soft (about 20 minutes).
Serve with fresh parsley garnish.
This soup can be made in the morning up until the adding of the rice. Rice tends to swell, so for a nice-looking soup with good broth ratio, fresh is best. Of course, the leftovers are all delicious even after the rice swells.
The Haggis
I have made my own haggis before using a variety of minced meat (beef, pork, venison) and my butcher has provided a large sausage casing, but now I simply buy it frozen at the Scottish and Irish Store and prepare as per their instruction. It is absolutely delicious.
Steak Balmoral
4 rib-eye steaks, pan fried in generous amount of butter (I use my large cast iron pan) or oven broiled to medium rare (125-130 degrees)
Remove and place on cutting board, tented with foil while you prepare the whisky sauce.
Top with whisky sauce and fresh parsley before serving.
If more than 4 at your supper, roast a whole beef tenderloin. For 12 people I use a 7- pound roast, sear on stove top in the roasting pan then roast in hot oven 450 degrees for 35-45 minutes to medium rare (130 degrees).
Whisky Sauce
2 tbsp butter
1 -2 chopped shallot
4 tbsp Scotch whisky
1 tsp coarse mustard
½ cup beef stock
½ cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper
½ tsp maple flavouring
Fresh Parsley
Melt butter in pan (best if you use the same pan you fried the steaks in with the drippings); saute shallots; add whisky and set afire; when flame dies down, add remaining ingredients except maple, and reduce by half; add maple just before serving to give a Canadian twist on a Scottish favourite sauce.
This recipe makes just enough sauce for the 4 steaks. It takes quite a while to reduce the sauce (while steaks are tented in foil).
Bashed Neeps
Boil a large peeled and diced turnip until tender; mash with butter and 1 tsp fresh grated ginger.
Chappit Tatties
Boil your peeled and diced potatoes; mash with butter and milk (or sour cream) and some greens (1/4 cup green onion) plus salt and pepper. Top with fresh parsley.
Tipsy Laird
4 tbsp Scotch whisky (or Drambuie)
1 orange juice and zest
4 dessert angel food cake sponges (or an angel food cake if you have time to make one)
4 cups raspberries (mash 3 cups, and keep remainder whole)
4 ounces white chocolate
Custard
Whipped cream
Toasted almonds
Mix whisky and orange juice and zest in shallow bowl. Dip angel food cake pieces in whisky, and place in bottom of trifle bowl (or in bottom of single serve dessert cup); add a layer of mashed berries, then grated white chocolate, then custard. Repeat. Top with whipped cream, whole berries, and toasted almonds just before serving.
I actually prefer this recipe with Drambuie. Depending upon how long you leave the cake in the liquid, you may have to top up the liquid – I usually do and end up having to juice and zest another orange. With the cost of fresh raspberries in January, I often use frozen berries to mash, and a small pkg of fresh berries to top.
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Tae the Bard!