Vegan Haggis!

As my regular reader will know, I'm not a fan of mock meats, but I will try anything once, if it's vegan of course! If it tastes too meaty then I'm afraid I cannot finish it, even though its over 25 years since I ate meat, and I doubt my taste buds can remember what meat tastes like! I think its a mind/brain thing, if it looks like meat and in my opinion tastes like meat then my brain thinks it IS meat! 

My sister has just returned from a short break in Scotland and she was surprised to find a vegan haggis for sale in a local shop. She didn't hesitate in buying one and brought it home for me to try.

My sister, is always on the look out for vegan foods for me, even though she is not a vegan or even a vegetarian herself. She also cooks a mean tofu and pea curry, but more about that later. The haggis contains a blend of pulses, seeds and vegetables.

The ingredients: Oats, Lentils (12%), vegetable margarine (non hydrogenated vegetable oil, sustainable palm oil, rapeseed oil in varying proportions, water, salt, emulsifier E471, flavouring), vegetables (9%) (in varying proportions, carrots, swede), kidney beans (8%), mushrooms, onions, sunflower seeds (3%), pumpkin seeds (3%), salt, pepper, spices. SUITABLE FOR VEGETARIANS AND VEGANS.

To cook you had to remove the printed packaging, obviously, and wrap in silver foil. Place the silver foil parcel in an oven proof dish with 2 cm of water in the bottom of the dish.

Bake for 25 minutes in 180°C and remove from oven. Carefully remove the silver foil and the inner packaging, (the skin) and clips to reveal the haggis.

I cut mine in half as it was quite a big portion and served it with mashed potatoes (made with coconut milk and vitalite), cauliflower, broccoli and mashed carrots and parsnips with an onion gravy.

The result, it was truly delicious and didn't at all taste or remind me of meat. It was a cross between sage and onion stuffing and lentil roast. If I can get my hands on another I would eat it again.