It’s Burns Night on Thursday 25 January and the traditional Burns Night Supper consists of… Haggis, neaps and tatties. If you want to celebrate Burns Night can I recommend celebrating with a Gluten-Free Vegan Burns Night Supper. One of my favourite meals and I’m really excited to share my recipes with you.

What’s Burns Night?

Burns Night/ Burns Night Supper is an annual celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns – held on the anniversary of his birth. Burns poetry is pretty influential. His poem To A Mouse inspired the title of John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel Of Mice and Men (one of my favourite books). The penultimate stanza of the poem contains these lines: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley” (often ‘translated’ as… The best-laid plans of mice and men / Often go awry). Burns is supposed to have written the poem after ploughing up a mouse’s nest – necessary to survive the winter.

(Scroll down for the full poem.)

My Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper Menu

Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper – Haggis

There are a few vegetarian (and vegan) haggis available in shops however, I haven’t found a gluten free one. So, I made my own recipe… Gluten-Free, Vegan Haggis is AMAZING (even if I say so myself!). With plenty of white pepper this has a wonderful spice and a depth of flavour from the vegetables, lentils, beans and oats. You may not have had anything quite like it before and it is WONDERFUL.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper – Potatoes

Mashed potatoes and the thing to go with haggis – and whilst I adore mashed potatoes I also LOVE Gluten-Free, Vegan Haggis served with Crispy Roast Potatoes.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper – Neeps

Mashed neeps (AKA turnips – you may call them swedes…) are traditional at a Burns Night Supper. Neeps are an amazing vegetable but… not one I like mashed (or served as a side at all). However, if you like them as a side neeps are the thing (just boil until soft and mash with a little gluten-free, vegan margarine and salt and pepper). I’m having sprouts and greens (both in season at the moment)… I LOVE green vegetables with haggis. I also like a spot of Roasted Squash too!

Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper – Gravy

You really cannot have haggis without gluten-free, vegan gravy. I make my own, you can easily buy gluten-free, vegan gravy in most supermarkets and stores now.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper – And

Brown sauce with haggis is the perfect match. Really, really good. You may have never heard of brown sauce or you may know it as HP sauce. Look out for it. I LOVE it. If you can find gluten-free, vegan brown sauce you can complete your Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper. I haven’t found any suitable brown sauce (so far) but I am pretty sure it is out there (I haven’t looked that hard to be honest!)

Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper – Dessert

Dessert is a tricky one… I’m not sure a cake after such a ‘comforting meal’ would be all that welcome. You could put together a gluten-free, vegan cranachan… (That’s a recipe to add to my list!) You would want something light, fruity and tasty for dessert. So, I’m having Pears Poached in Spiced Red Wine. I think they are tasty and delicious (and striking) enough to finish a special meal.

What are you having for your Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper?

Haggis has to be the main focus here, for Burns Night, I think. Unless you have some more ideas? And the accompaniments are many and varied…

What are you you having for your Gluten-Free, Vegan Burns Night Supper? Drop a comment below or ping me on social media! 🙂

Tae a Moose, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough

Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,
Wi’ murd’ring pattle!

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion,
Has broken nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An’ fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
‘S a sma’ request;
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
An’ never miss’t!

Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,
O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
Baith snell an’ keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
An’ weary winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell-
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro’ thy cell.

Thy wee bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter’s sleety dribble,
An’ cranreuch cauld!

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e’e.
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
I guess an’ fear!

Robert Burns, 1785