A Burns Night Supper
Tonight is Burn's Night - an annual event to celebrate Scotland’s own ‘National Bard’, Robert Burns…or Rabbie Burns, born in 1757.
Burn’s Night is celebrated on the 25th January each year, his birthday. He is probably best known for the lyrics for Auld Lang Syne, A Red Red Rose and Address to the Haggis. Known for being a bit of a rebel, he rejected the Church and was known for satire and a directness in his work that was considered refreshing at the time. Frequently called ‘The Ploughman’s Poet’, he was writing poetry during the period of what became known as the Scottish Enlightenment.
For some time I had been pondering on how to make a raw plant-based haggis, traditionally served at Burns Night - so the opportunity to present a raw Burn’s Night supper at Asparagasm sharpened my focus (BC - before covid).
The final Deliciously Raw menu looked something like this.
Smoked macadamia butter, pickled radishes
Oatcakes with macadamia cheddar, apricot wensleydale, black pepper cream cheese, blood orange and cranberry chutney, Arran inspired mustard, celery infused apples
Sweetcorn skink
Haggis, 3 roots 3 ways, winter chanterelles, kale with butternut squash, caramelised onions and a pomegranate reduction.
White chocolate pave, vanilla shortbread, raspberry sorbet, whisky vanilla cream
Green apple sorbet
It was a sell out event. It was a very busy evening so I have very few photos and those I have were taken by Lauren, our host.
Lauren developed a Highland Fling cocktail for the event which was kale and apple with a shot of Monkey Shoulder and a twist of orange – a surprising combination that worked really well.
Amuse Bouche: Smoked macadamia butter, pickled radishes (pictured above). Photo: Lauren Lovatt
We started with an amuse bouche of smoked macadamia nut butter with radishes - a kind of take on the French radishes and butter, taking inspiration from Chef Scott from my time at Matthew Kenney’s The Gothic in Maine.
Apricot Wensleydale from the Diploma in Raw Chef Mastery. Photo: Dawn Langley
The raw plant-based cheeseboard was a riot of fermented cheeses with chutney and mustards. I love making apricot wensleydale (a cheese that features in the Diploma in Raw Chef Mastery). I was really happy with the oatcakes (also now featuring in the Diploma). Although they were fiddly to make, they really tasted like their cooked counterparts.
Skink, if you were wondering, is a Scottish word, for a thick soup – a bit like a chowder.
The haggis was a mix of Brazil nuts, seeds, carrots, seasonings and truffle which came together with the consistency of a haggis. It was accompanied by juicy Portobello mushrooms marinated in balsamic and olive oil and garlic chanterelles. What the dish lacked in neeps and tatties (or cooked swede and white potatoes), I compensated for with other root veggies.
I marinated and compressed three different varieties of heirloom carrots and compressed one with lemon, another type with rosemary and the third with chilli.
Fresh horseradish provided some creamy heat and the parsnip crisps, caramelised onions and dehydrated nut roast crumb delivered some crunch. Some wilted kale and with softened butternut squash was added for good measure. The dish was underpinned by a raw pomegranate reduction which added a sweet and sour sauce – the perfect counterfoil for the rich haggis.
People were really surprised at how much the haggis resembled the raw version and how hearty and substantial a raw plant based main course could be. This could easily be served in the place of a Sunday Roast.
As Ann said… ‘it tastes bang on.’
If people had any room, there was my version of buttery shortbread with a white chocolate pave, white chocolate and raspberry bark, raspberry sorbet and whisky vanilla cream.
During the evening, Polly provided a fine recital of Address to the Haggis, a poem written by Burns to celebrate his appreciation of the Haggis.
She had thoughtfully printed it out with an English translation for those of us whose Scottish English Dialect is somewhat rusty.
We finished the evening with some sharp green apple sorbet – which is a really fabulous smack around the chops as a way to finish.
I love doing pop up events; I get to unleash my creativity and they are so much fun.
If you’d like to learn how to make raw food like this – and develop recipes yourself, then why not start the journey to being a raw chef by checking out my raw chef training. I guarantee that I can change the way you think about and make raw food forever and before long you’ll be running your own pop-up nights.
Make your own raw Burns Night Supper
Much of the menu I presented at the event used advanced techniques and expensive equipment (such as a pacojet) so I have designed a more straightforward raw menu in a recipe download in the spirit of the one I presented (including the Sweetcorn Skink and the raw Haggis dish), I which requires just a food processor, blender and dehydrator. This revised menu won’t take you days to prepare.
On the revised menu
First: Sweetcorn Skink
Main: Haggis and Neeps with wilted kale, ‘roasted’ mushrooms and pomegranate reduction.
Sweet: Cranachan with maca oat crumbles
If you’ve not come across it before, cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert which combines oats, cream and raspberries. Think of it as a Scottish trifle with oats. This recipe combines a superfood oat cluster with a whipped cashew coconut cream and raspberries – add a drop of whisky if you wish.
Elements of the menu that you’ll learn in the Burns Night Supper recipe pack
· Sweetcorn skink
· Haggis
· Neeps
· ‘Roasted’ herbed Portabella mushroom
· Pomegranate reduction
· Carrot chip
· Wilted kale with cranberries and orange
· Raspberry cranachan
· Maca oat clusters
· Raspberry coulis
· Whipped cream
· Coconut milk
· Almond milk
If you are inspired to create your own Burns Night Supper (or would like to learn a hearty raw meal to replace a roast dinner), you can download the recipe pack and planning guide here.
