Monday 31 December 2012

Hogmanay Stovies

Well it is the last day of 2012 - where did that year go??  I thought I should really try to master stovies this year.  I love to eat stovies over the new year celebrations and I have only ever attempted to make them once before - total failure!  I am much more practiced in my culinary skills now...still a few mishaps but getting better :)


So here goes
 Onions slowly cooking in lard - puke!  Yes LARD!  I didn't even know they still sold this but apparently stovies need lard to make them taste stov-ie

 Nicely softening

 In go my tatties

 Add water and a meat stock cube and bring to the boil

 And left to simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on - stirring occasionally

 Until the tatties are lovely and soft

 Add corned beef - how the hell do those tins open by the way??  I had no idea how to use the little key and after a ridiculous amount of time trying I used my tin opener :)


 So here is my bowl of stovies of course served with bannocks


And a slice of corned beef

Salty fatty yummy stovies for a Scottish Hogmanay night.

I am sitting watching Julie and Julia and I feel like I am Julie! Although I am not going to be working my way through all the recipes in a fancy cook book I think I need a challenge for 2013.  Any ideas?  I need to make more real food less sweets so maybe a real cook book to work through would be a good plan.  One recipe a week?  It's an idea...possibly my new year's resolution :)

Happy New Year everyone
Lang may yer lum reek wi other folks coal......

12 comments:

  1. You have NO idea how happy this post makes me!

    1) no idea what stovies are (now I do.. I think?)
    2) I was just talking with my husband about learning 'ENGLISH' not this American stuff we sputter.
    3) Tinned corned beef? I think Spam is the closest we've got.
    4) and from now for ever onward I am SO going to say Tatties. I googled it and Mince & Tatties came up sounds just like what you made...

    I'm trying to think of a 'cultural dish' I could share with you... but I think everything we make once came from somewhere else and doesn't count? My mom's cheeseball is the ONE thing I must have at New Year's would that count?

    So nice to pretend I'm in your world for sec. :)

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    1. Hahaha Carissa so funny. Can't believe there are people who don't know what stovies are! Mince and tatties are equally good but not at all the same - however the TATTIES part is! Haha I never use the word potato. This is more SCOTTISH than ENGLISH but I will let you off :) I have never had cheeseball so yes I think you should share this with me.
      Welcome to my world :) x

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  2. Hi! I'm an American who fell in love with Stovies on a recent trip to Scotland. I found your blog when Googling stovies recipes using canned corned beef. (Yes, we do have it here in the states!) The only recipe I can think to share with you that may be American in origin is meatloaf. Are you familiar? Thank you for the stovies recipe! (PS-also fell in love with Scotland!)

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    1. I am so happy that you fell in love with Scotland and stovies!! It is that time of year again for us where a bowl of stovies warms you right up. Thanks for leaving a comment on this post I hadn't read it since last New Year how things change in a year :) Although I still have no idea how to open tinned corned beef - any hints?! Haha. I would love a recipe for meatloaf I failed dismally at cooking real food recipes this year so maybe next year?! I have heard of meatloaf (I'd do anything for love but I won't do that...Haha kidding ) but have never attempted to make it or I am pretty sure even sampled it so please share :)

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    2. Lol @your Meatloaf reference! The pot of Stovies I made last night was much better than my first attempt. Still not as good as what I ate at The Singing Kettle in Alyth though!
      I will keep trying...Our tinned corned beef comes with a "key" that you use to unwind a strip of metal that opens the can. Is that how yours works?
      This link is to a meatloaf recipe similar to the one I make.
      http://southernfood.about.com/od/meatloafrecipes/r/bl91023c.htm
      However, I leave out the water, double the ketchup, and use 2/3 cup of Italian bread crumbs. Meatloaf is one of those recipes that you just have to play around with until you find one that you like. There are almost as many variations as there are cooks, I think!
      Its cold here now also, so it's the perfect time of year for "comfort foods" like stovies and meatloaf!

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    3. PS Just saw the pic of the can of corned beef. You take the key off and put it back on so that it hangs off the bottom of the can before you start turning it...

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    4. Alyth is not that far from me - never been to The Singing Kettle though but will definitely go when I get the chance and sample their now world renowned stovies! Will try the corned beef key one day soon! Thanks for the meatloaf recipe I am going to try it and see how I get on :)

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    5. That's great! You will have to tell the owner that her U.S. friends who were there in Sept. sent you! (She is a lovely woman). It was surreal for me to eat there because I actually first discovered the shop while on Google Earth in my kitchen at home! I hope you like the meatloaf. One of the places I want to go back to in Scotland is Blairgowrie. It looked like a beautiful little town as we drove through it. I don't know where you live, but if it's near there it must be beautiful!

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  3. You made "corned beef hash" nae Stovies. *(The clue = tinned corned beef)

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    1. What is stovies then? I make these without the corned beef too sometimes or just serve it with sliced corned beef. This is what I was brought up on as stovies 😁

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    2. Stovies have loads of recipes and you can be sure there are plenty real Scottish Grannies making Stovies with corned beef from a can. I reckon most authentic is use what u have. Left over roast pork, or beef, Even square sausage is lovely.

      (Corned beef hash doesn't involve cooking with liquid I'm pretty sure...you just fry up already cooked potato with the meat.

      Maybe a little bit of scottish snobbery in that last post tbh :)

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    3. Thanks! I thought these could be called stovies - I love that any left overs can be put together to call them stovies. Either way these taste good to me and I don't like corned beef hash but maybe I'm making that wrong too...?! haha xx

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