With just a few more sleeps until Burns Night, it is time to start thinking about how to celebrate the occasion.
Considering suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday on January 25, there is no better way to honour the beloved poet than by whipping up a delicious meal.
While there are countless traditional main courses and desserts you can prepare, from haggis, neeps and tatties to clootie dumpling, recipe website Gousto has shared some unique recipes with a twist.
If you're looking to celebrate on Wednesday with a Burns supper, but are keen to experiment with new dishes, then there are three recipes that Gousto has provided that are well worth trying.
From a Venison and Pork Burger with Neep & Tattie Fries to a Haggis-Spiced Veggie Loaf with Clapshot, and even a Flamin’ Irn Bru Trifle, here are three yummy meals you can cook up this Burns Night.
Burns Night Venison & Pork Burger with Neep & Tattie Fries
Ingredients for 2 people
- 2 butter brioche buns
- 1 red onion
- 21g wholegrain mustard
- 50ml mayonnaise
- 40g cheddar cheese
- 50g cornichons
- 250g swede
- 2 x 113.5g venison & pork burgers
- 2 white potatoes
Method
Step 1
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ 425°F/ Gas 7
- Peel the swede
- Cut the potatoes (skins on) and the peeled swede into skinny fries
Step 2
- Add the skinny fries to a baking tray with a generous drizzle of vegetable oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper
- Give everything a good mix up and put the tray in the oven for 30 min or until golden – these are your neep & tattie fries
Step 3
- While the fries are in the oven, peel and finely slice the red onion
- Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat
- Once hot, add the sliced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 min or until beginning to soften, then reduce the heat to very low and cook for 15 min or until caramelised
- Tip: Add a splash of water to the pan if they look like they may burn!
Step 4
- Meanwhile, slice 3 cornichons in half lengthways and set aside (these will be going in your burger later!)
- Chop the remaining cornichons in half lengthways, then slice them as finely as you can
- Combine the sliced cornichon, mayo and wholegrain mustard with a generous pinch of pepper – this is your mustardy cornichon sauce
Step 5
- Line a baking tray with baking paper
- Add the venison & pork burger patties to one side of the baking tray
- Once the neep & tattie fries have been cooking for 15 min put the tray in the oven for 15 min or until the burgers are cooked through (no pink meat!)
Step 6
- After the onions have been slowly caramelising for 15 min, add 1/2 tbsp brown sugar and a splash of cold water and cook for a further 3-4 min
- Then remove from the heat and set aside
- Slice the cheddar cheese into 4 slices
Step 7
- Slice the brioche buns in half
- Remove the baking tray with the venison & pork burgers from the oven and top with the sliced cheese
- Add the sliced brioche buns to the other side of the baking tray and return it to the oven for 3 min or until the cheese has melted and the brioche is lightly toasted
- Spread the toasted brioche base with half the mustardy cornichon sauce, then layer on the cheesy Burns venison & pork burger, the sweet caramelised onions and sliced cornichon and top with the toasted brioche lid
- Serve the neep & tattie fries with the remaining mustardy cornichon sauce to the side
Burns Night Haggis-Spiced Veggie Loaf with Clapshot
Ingredients for 2 people
- 150g cavolo nero
- 11g vegetable stock mix
- 30g panko breadcrumbs
- 20g onion marmalade
- 185g of green lentils
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 160g chestnut mushrooms
- 21g of wholegrain mustard
- 2 garlic cloves
- 8g of Marmite
- 250g swede
- 2.5g cracked black pepper
- 2 white potatoes
- 1 carrot
Method
Step 1
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C (fan)/ 395°F/ Gas 6
- Top, tail and dice the carrot finely, then finely chop the chestnut mushrooms
- Heat a large wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) over a medium-high heat with a large knob of butter and a pinch of salt
- Once hot, add the carrot and cook for 2-3 min, then add the chopped mushrooms and cook for a further 5-7 min
Step 2
- While the mushrooms are cooking, boil a kettle
- Peel and chop the swede and potatoes into large bite-size pieces
- Add the chopped vegetables to a pot of boiling water with a large pinch of salt, bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 10-15 min or until fork-tender
- Once done, drain and leave them to steam dry, reserving the pot for later
Step 3
- Meanwhile, peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic
- Drain and rinse the green lentils
- Add the chopped garlic to the pan with drained lentils, cracked black pepper (can't candle the heat? Go easy!) and ground allspice (not a fan of allspice? Don't add it all!), give everything a good mix up and cook for 1-2 min or until fragrant
Step 4
- While the mixture is cooking, dissolve the Marmite and half the veg stock in 100ml boiled water – this is your stock
- Add the stock to the pan with the panko breadcrumbs, mix everything together and cook for 1-2 min or until the stock has been completely absorbed – this is your haggis spiced veggie loaf mix
- Reboil half a kettle
Step 5
- Line a loaf tin (approx. 23x13x7cm) with non-stick baking paper and grease with vegetable oil
- Add the haggis spiced veggie loaf mix to the prepared tin, pressing down into the corners and smoothing out the top with a spatula
- Roast for 20-25 min in the oven or until crisp on the top
- Reserve the pan and wipe clean with kitchen paper
Step 6
- Chop the cavolo nero roughly, removing any tough stalks
- Cut 2 pieces of tin foil approx. the size of an A3 sheet of paper and layer them over each other, then add the cavolo nero to the middle with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt
- When the haggis loaf is almost cooked, scrunch the edges of the foil around the greens to form 1 sealed parcel and add to a baking tray, then put in the oven for 8-10 min or until the greens are wilted
Step 7
- Return the reserved pan to a medium-high heat with a knob of butter, once melted add 1 tsp flour and cook for 1-2 min, stirring frequently, until a sandy paste forms
- Whisk in 200ml boiled water, onion marmalade and the remaining stock mix and cook for 4 min or until the gravy has thickened – this is your onion gravy
- Return the drained vegetables to a low heat with a splash of milk and a knob of butter, season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and mash until smooth – this is your clapshot
- Gently turn the haggis spiced veggie loaf out onto a chopping board, let it cool slightly and slice thickly (it's meant to be crumbly!)
- Serve the haggis spiced veggie loaf with the clapshot and cavolo nero to the side
- Drizzle over the onion gravy and dollop the wholegrain mustard to the side
Flamin’ Irn Bru Trifle
Ingredients
- 100ml whisky (set aside 2 tbsp for the flambé)
- 8 trifle sponges
- 330ml Irn Bru (1 can)
- 500g ready-made thick custard
- 1 packet orange jelly cubes
- 5 blood oranges (can’t find them? Normal oranges will work fine)
- 3 egg whites
- 175g caster sugar
Method
Step 1
- Add the Irn Bru to a bowl with a pinch of salt and leave to one side.
- Tip: We want the Irn Bru to be flat, and adding salt gets rid of the bubbles.
Step 2
- Roughly tear the trifle sponges into small pieces then fill the bottom of your trifle dish.
- Pour over the whisky (reserving 2 tbsp for later) and press down with a spoon to make sure the sponges are well soaked.
Step 3
- Pour over the custard in an even layer, then put in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until firmed up.
Step 4
- Use a small sharp knife (serrated works best) to cut off the tops and bottoms of the blood oranges.
- Then, rest the orange on its base and use a sawing motion to carefully slice off the skin and pith.
- Once it’s peeled, slice each orange into rounds.
Step 5
- Add the orange jelly cubes to a separate bowl with 240ml boiled water.
- Stir until fully dissolved, then add in the (now flat) Irn Bru and leave to cool.
Step 6
- Once the custard has set, remove from the fridge.
- Then pick your best-looking slices, and place them around the sides of the bowl so you can see the circles of oranges through the glass.
- Then layer the leftover orange slices over the custard (this will act as a barrier for the jelly).
Step 7
- Slowly ladle the Irn Bru jelly over the orange slices (carefully, so as not to disturb the custard).
- Put into the fridge to set overnight.
Step 8
- The next day, add the egg whites and caster sugar to a large bowl with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp water.
- Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water).
- Whisk with electric beaters until you have soft peaks, then remove the bowl from the pan and continue whisking until cool – this is your Swiss meringue.
- Tip: Whipping egg whites to a soft peak means that when you pull the whisk away from the mixture, a peak forms, but it flops over and doesn’t stay upright.
Step 9
- Pile the Swiss meringue onto the jelly, spreading it out to the sides. Optionally, you can lightly brown the outside with a blowtorch to give it a burnished look.
- To flambé: Heat the remaining 2 tbsp whisky in a small saucepan until warmed then remove from the heat. Carefully light the whisky with a match and, once alight, pour it over the Swiss meringue.
- Tip: Remember to let any flames die down completely before cutting and serving.
Recipes from Gousto, the UK’s best value recipe box offering 75 meals to choose from weekly.
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