Stuart Higginson had chicken breasts stuffed with haggis in the shop window, called something like chicken McHaggis or something corny like that. 2 guinea fowl weighing about a kilo each 500g good quality haggis 1tbsp oatmeal 2tbsp chopped parsley A couple of knobs of butter, softened Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 onion, peeled and quartered 1 leek, cut into chunks and washed 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks 1/2tbsp flour 1tbsp whisky 500ml chicken stock Pre-heat the oven to 230C/gas mark 8. Heat the butter in a heavy frying pan and cook the herrings for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden Serve with lemon wedges. With plain boiled potatoes and spinach you have a simple, healthy and delicious meal.
Roast guinea fowl with haggis and oat stuffing Serves 4-6 Of all the haggis I've tasted on my travels, two were streets ahead. One is Simon Howie's (Findony, Muckhart Road, Dunning, Perthshire, 01764 684332, www.simonhowiefoods.co.uk), which is also sold under the Scottish Haggis Company name, and the other is Stuart Houston's (JB Houston, Greenbrae Loaning, Dumfries, 01387 255528, www.jbhouston.co.uk) made in Dumfries with Scottish blackface lamb. Mackerel are still plentiful and cheap and you could use them instead. 4 herrings weighing about 250-300g 60-80g fine oatmeal 50g butter Lemon wedges for serving Salt and freshly ground white pepper Season the herrings and press them into the oatmeal on the skin and flesh side brushing off any excess. Ask your fishmonger to split the herrings like a kipper and remove as many of the small bones as possible, or if the herrings are large they can be filleted. Although you don't see herrings around as much nowadays as you used to, as stocks have somewhat diminished due to over-fishing, there are sustainable fisheries, such as the Thames Herring Fishery (visit www.msc for more details), which has been approved by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Herrings in oatmeal Serves 4 This is a classic way to cook fresh herrings, and now we know it's doubly healthy, because of the fish's oils. Pour this over the seeds and nuts and stir in until well mixed. Line a 25-27cm x 15-16cm x 3-4cm deep tray with buttered greaseproof or silicone paper Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 5 Spoon the mixture into the tray and press down evenly Cook for 10-12 minutes until golden Leave to cool then turn out and cut into fingers or squares. Bring the butter, golden syrup, light brown sugar and the vanilla essence to the boil in a saucepan and remove from the heat. 100g unsalted butter 150g golden syrup 150g light brown sugar A few drops of vanilla essence 200g oats 30g pumpkin seeds 30g sesame seeds 30g sunflower seeds 30g pistachio nuts 30g whole almonds 60g chopped dried apricots Mix the oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachio nuts, whole almonds and the chopped dried apricots together in a bowl.
