I know, I know – I missed Burns’ Night. I seem to be missing everything lately! I put it all into a big pile somewhere in my mind, and then I forget about it till it’s too late. Well, it’s never too late for vegetarian haggis! This dish would be delicious whatever you called it. (Possibly more delicious if you didn’t conjure pictures of actual haggis!!) It is comprised of french lentils, roasted mushrooms, oatmeal, nuts, herbs & spices and a dash of whisky. I’ve baked it inside of pastry before (surprise! surprise!). But my all-time favorite way to eat it is baked inside of big beautiful chard leaves. I think it looks pretty, and the chard adds a lovely flavor as it holds everything together. I first had vegetarian haggis on my honeymoon in Edinburgh – out of a can! It was surprisingly tasty. This is my recreation of that canned delight, but it also happens to be a collection of many of my favorite foods. I put butter and cheese in mine, but you could easily leave those out, and then you’d have vegan haggis.

Here’s The Gourds with I Ate the Haggis (thanks, TFD!)

1 cup french lentils prepared this way
1 cup roasted mushrooms (flavored with plenty of sage, thyme and rosemary)
1 cup rolled oats, toasted till fragrant and lightly brown
1 cup mixed nuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup kidney beans
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
about 4 T butter, cut into pieces
1 T whisky (I used laphroaig, which has a lovely smokey flavor)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t. smoked paprika
pinch each nutmeg and allspice
salt
lots and lots and lots and lots of black pepper

6 or 7 very large chard leaves

Combine everything but the chard leaves in a large bowl and stir to mix well. Leave out about 1 T worth of butter pieces.

In a large pot of salted water, boil the chard leaves for a couple of minutes, until they’re wilted, but still bright. Drain them, and leave to cool for a moment. They don’t need to be completely dry.

Butter a medium-sized bowl or dish. Line the bowl with the chard leaves – starting in the center and moving around like the petals of a flower. Make sure the leaves overlap one another. Their tips should hang over the outside of the bowl.

Press the filling into the leave-lined bowl, and then fold the tips of the chard leaves over. Overlap them again, until you have a smooth, coherent surface of chard leaves. Dot the surface with the remaining tablespoonful of butter.

Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes, till it’s hot through.