Scottish Stovies and Oatcakes
Stovies are made from left-overs, usually comprising potatoes, onions and meat and served with oatcakes. A truly heartening dish and very economical.
There is no ‘true’ recipe for stovies so please feel free to adjust and tweak as you see fit.
Ingredients
1.5kg floury tatties
2 large onions
100ml fat or dripping
125ml stock or leftover gravy
Salt & pepper
Leftover meat traditionally from the roast.
Method
- Slice the onions thinly. In a deep frying pan (which has a lid) melt the fat and add the onions. Fry until soft and if you then prefer, keep frying until they brown. The beauty of stovies is that you cook to your own preference.
- Slice the tatties unevenly, so that when cooking, some break up and much and some stay whole and chunky. Add them to the onions and stir well.
- Place the lid on the pan and leave to cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure the temperature is at its lowest and add your stock or gravy from a roast to moisten and prevent from sticking. The less liquid, the drier the stovies. Again, your personal preference should be your choice.
- Once the tatties are cooked through, mix in the leftover meat (which you have already chopped or shredded). Taste and season.
Serve with oatcakes (recipe here) and pickled beetroot or other favourite pickle or chutney.
Although a leftover dish, you can make this from scratch, substituting the meat for bacon, corned beef, lamb, mince, beef etc.
Top Tip: If, like me, you prefer little crispy bits, overcook the tatties and onions, so they start to stick to the pan, then scrape off the bottom. Mix in and continue until you’re happy with it. Delicious!
