Scottish Food Doesn't Get More Traditional Than With a Stovies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Where does stovies originate from? ›

Stovies (also stovy tatties, stoved potatoes, stovers or stovocks) is a Scottish dish based on potatoes. Recipes and ingredients vary widely but the dish contains potatoes, fat, usually onions and often pieces of meat. In some versions, other vegetables may also be added.

Scotland's natural larder of vegetables, fruit, oats, fish and other seafood, dairy products and game is the chief factor in traditional Scottish cooking, with a high reliance on simplicity, without the use of rare, and historically expensive, spices found abroad.

Scotland's national dish is haggis, a savoury meat pudding, and it's traditionally accompanied by mashed potatoes, turnips (known as 'neeps') and a whisky sauce. Which brings us to the national drink – whisky. Over 100 distilleries in Scotland produce this amber-hued liquid, many of which can be explored on a tour.

The meat and vegetables will break up to create a thick, hearty stew-like consistency but still retain their shape. Be careful not to overboil. Serve the stovies in a deep dish or bowl with rough oatcakes and brown sauce, if you like it.

/ˈstəʊvɪz/ [plural] ​a Scottish dish consisting of potatoes cooked with onions. Word Origin.

The Origin Of The Stovie

In 1804, Thomas Masson, a young Scottish sea captain, invented a sweet & savory snack to ward off rickets and scurvy on long passages. Cooked on the galley stove like pancakes, "Oat Stovies” quickly became a favorite among sea-faring Scots.

Haggis is our national dish, and the first recipe dates back to the 15th century (in recorded history).

So, what is a full Scottish breakfast? Usually made up of bacon, link sausages, Lorne sausage (also known as square sausage or slice), black pudding, haggis, baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, toast, tattie scones and fried eggs, the full Scottish breakfast is a sight to behold.

Traditionally, Haggis comprises of sheep's offal, mixed with oats, suet, onion, spices and is cooked inside a sheep's stomach. Today, the haggis that is widely available in supermarkets and served commonly in restaurants is made from either lamb, beef, pork, or sometimes venison.

Viking farmers cultivated cabbages, beans, peas and endive, and wild apples and berries were also available to Middle Age diners. A wide range of herbs and seasonings helped flavor Viking food, with spices like coriander, cumin, mustard and wild horseradish making an appearance at the table.

What meat is Stovies made from? ›

A Scottish dish of potatoes cooked with onions and corned beef. It's a whole meal in itself; simple and easy to make!

No-one is certain where the name clapshot comes from but some think it is a nod to the noise of the masher in the saucepan being reminiscent of gunfire. The name started in Orkney and then spread through the Highlands.

Skirlie is a Scottish dish, made from oatmeal fried with fat, onions and seasonings. The "skirl" indicates the noise made by the frying ingredients.

The term 'stovies' comes from the way the dish is cooked. The potatoes are stewed slowly, rather than boiled. The process of stewing is known in Scots as 'to stove. ' The ingredients vary a bit, but rarely stray from tatties, onions and meat.

A Scottish dish of potatoes cooked with onions and corned beef. It's a whole meal in itself; simple and easy to make!

Clapshot is a traditional Scottish dish that originated in Orkney and may be served with haggis, oatcakes, mince, sausages or cold meat.

Cattle that bear the PGI mark have spent all of their lives in bonnie Scotland. Not only that, they have spent their lives in selected Scottish farms. Farms that practise the highest standards of welfare and production. This is regulated by the QMS Cattle & Sheep Assurance Scheme.