You'll soon work up a hearty appetite for haggis after a day spent seeing the sights in Edinburgh. WORDS: Trevor Paddenburg.
I'd
been sightseeing for eight hours and then knocked back three pints by
the time my steaming plate of haggis, neeps 'n' tatties arrived (that's
Scottish for haggis, turnips and potatoes). So nothing was going to
turn me off tucking in.
Nope, not even the thought that
Scotland's most famous dish is made from a hearty combination of sheep
liver, heart and lung, mixed in with a bit of beef suet (white kidney
fat), onion and oatmeal and cooked inside a sheep's stomach.
After all, I'd come to Edinburgh to sample all things Scottish, and haggis at British pub grub eatery Monster Mash was at the top of my list.
In fact, a night later, I ordered another platter of haggis, this time at the cosy White Heart Inn, just to make sure I'd managed to get a good dose of it into me.
The verdict? Damn tasty, I have to admit, full of flavour with a nutty texture - kind of like peppery mince and not half as puke-inducing as it sounds on the page of a recipe book.
You might argue that just about anything will taste good after a big day of traipsing around Edinburgh's hills and gullies, taking in the atmospheric sights from the Royal Mile to Calton Hill, Arthur's Seat and Princes Street (see sidebar).
To make sure I wasn't dreaming, I asked a few locals their thoughts on the regional speciality.
"Aye, I like it," a Scot by the name of Dougie told me, as we sheltered from a rain squall on the Royal Mile. "It's delicious with a nice gravy. I eat it about once a week."
A day later when I ducked into a supermarket, the old gent in front of me at the checkout was buying a pre-made frozen haggis, neeps and tatties meal.
Again, I got the same response when I asked if it was any good. "Aye, it's damn tasty," he said. "The wife used to cook it every Sunday, but now it's just me, so I get the frozen ones."
What most visitors don't realise, though, is that while the Scots claim haggis for their own, chances are it was actually first made by the ancient Greeks. A primitive haggis recipe is referred to in Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus is likened to "a man before a great blazing fire turning swiftly this way and that a stomach full of fat and blood, very eager to have it roasted quickly".
And, originally, back in the mists of time, it certainly wasn't the gourmet dish you might now be served in a hearth-warmed Edinburgh pub. In fact it only became popular out of necessity, when starving farmers and villagers used every bit of flesh and scrap of meat they could get their mitts on - which is how all those, er, rather interesting ingredients became a part of Scottish tradition.
If you're not a carnivore, don't despair. Haggis even comes in a veggie version, so there's no excuse not to sample a piping hot plate of the meaty (or non-meaty) dish after a big day out in the friendly and dramatic Scottish capital.
» Trevor Paddenburg travelled to Edinburgh with Visit Scotland and their Adventure Passport promotion (0845-2255 121; www.visitscotland.com).
Pound the pavement
Haggis ain't the healthiest dish, so put on your walking shoes and work off the calories with a wander around Edinburgh's city centre. There's loads to see.
» Edinburgh Castle
Scotland's most famous castle seems to grow straight out of the rock and looms over the city with a big, brooding presence. The flaming torches and statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace at the entrance are a nice touch.
» The Royal Mile
Loaded with tacky tourist shops selling countless kilts, the Royal Mile also has cool whiskey distilleries, cosy pubs and cobblestones, ensuring it still oozes character.
» Princes Street
There's world-class shopping on one side of this road artery with wicked views across to the Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh Castle and skyline on the opposite side of the road.
» Calton Hil
Rising dramatically from the end of Princes Street, Calton Hill is loaded with 19th century memorials and offers a superb panorama over the city.