Stovies with skirlie

Stovies (left) and skirlie

This is a serious Friday night it's snowing outside get the fire on and whisky out meal. A real throwback to the peasant food of the past when nothing went to waste and cereals and potatoes were a staple. There are a million different versions of stovies, everyone has a personal preference. I like simply onions, fat, leftover meat (tonight I used the trim from the beef bones of last night's stock) and potatoes but feel free to use gravy instead of stock and turnip as well. Skirlie is very simple and a great tasty accompaniment and also really good as a stuffing for Christmas turkey.

Stovies
500g potatoes
500g leftover meat (beef, lamb, mutton) chopped coarsely
2 onions sliced
1tbsp dripping (or oil if being healthier!)
Strong beef stock

Preheat the oven to 190C. Slice and part boil the potatoes. Heat the fat in an oven proof pan and strew on the onions and cook until soft. Place the meat on top and season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes on top, pour over the stock to cover. Place in the oven for an hour until the potatoes are cooked, making sure the liquid doesn't dry out.

Skirlie
4tbsp dripping or oil
2 onions sliced
250g medium oatmeal toasted

Heat the oil in a pan and strew on the onions, cooking until softened. Add in the oatmeal and cook for 10 minutes until tender stirring frequently. Season and serve.