I first discovered Pan Haggerty in the Hairy Bikers 'Mum's know best' recipe book. We tried it, liked it, my husband suggested an addition of haggis and now we love it! It's a firm favourite, particularly over the colder months, I'd even go so far to say his has replaced stovies as our go to winter comfort meal!
If you've never heard of Pan Haggerty before it a traditional dish from Northumberland, it seems some varieties only have potatoes, onion and cheese, while others include extra ingredients such as carrots and meats. I imagine this dish was a tasty way to make the humble potato and veggies go further and fill bellies. It is a very filling dish, even without the meat.
The haggis adds so much flavour, the spices flow through the dish as it cooks and the broth is delicious, you might need a slice of bread on hand to mop up your plate!
There is a fair amount of chopping to get started so either get your food processor out, put some music on or a good book on Audible and enjoy the next 15 mins. There's no point rushing it, you want thinly sliced potatoes, carrots and onion and if you're doing it by hand it will take time. It's worth it though! If you are doing it by hand, sharpen your knife first, it'll make the process that much easier.
If you are adding haggis, and I hope you do, you'll want about 200 - 250g. If you don't want to buy a whole haggis then buy the pre-sliced version you'd have with a breakfast, you'll want 4 or 5 slices. If you're not in Scotland and can't buy haggis easily then a tin of Grants haggis will be just fine, I'm pretty sure you can order it on Amazon. The tinned stuff tends to have some fat around the outside, I scrape this off then use just over half the tin. If you have any haggis left over please treat yourself to a haggis and egg roll the next day, simply delicious if you've never tried it.
Pan Haggerty, as the name suggests is made in a large wide pan with a lid and is cooked on the hob. I use a flat bottomed wok, though you could easily use a saute pan or casserole as long as you have a lid or covering. You need to layer up the the ingredients, starting with the potatoes, then the carrot, onion, bacon and haggis. Repeat this and finish with a final layer of potatoes, so 3 of potatoes, 2 of the rest.
Recipe
Serves 4
750g (4 large) potatoes, scrubbed and sliced
250g (2 large) carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion
4 rashers of bacon, trimmed, cooked and chopped.
200 - 250g haggis, broken into pieces
400ml chicken stock
Grated cheese, enough to cover the top
Veg oil for the pan
Directions
Start by trimming the fat from your bacon and cooking it. Once cooked and cooled chop into pieces.
While the bacon cooks start prepping your veggies as per recipe above. There's no need to peel the potatoes and you wouldn't want to miss out on all the goodness in the skins anyway.
Put your pan on a medium heat and add about a tablespoon of oil. Prepare the chicken stock (i.e. if you're using a stock cube mix it up with the water)
When the pan is hot start layering everything up. Start with the potatoes, then the carrot, onion, bacon and haggis. Repeat and finish with a final layer of potatoes, so 3 of potatoes, 2 of the rest.
Pour over the chicken stock and cover with a lid.
The stock won't cover whats in the pan, the top layer will still cook with the steam.
Leave to cook for 40 minutes, check the top layer of potatoes is cooked by pricking with a fork. If they are cover with a generous layer of grated cheese, cheddar is fine, and place under a hot grill.
When the cheese is bubbling remove and serve while hot.
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