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Original poster

Help me, Scottish MNers!: Stovies

78 replies

Penthesileia · 13/01/2009 20:37

I was reminded by recent reports that Gordon Brown's favourite food is rumbledethumps that one of my preferred childhood foods was Stovies (some smart-arse journalist compared the two and belittled both. Harumph).

Sadly, my mum died when I was 13, and she never showed me how to make them.

17 years is too long to go without Stovies!

Does anyone know how to make them?

TIA!

OP posts:
Macdog · 13/01/2009 20:39

OK
Here- YUMMY!!!

Macdog · 13/01/2009 20:40

Or this one

Macdog · 13/01/2009 20:41

Previous thread

squeaver · 13/01/2009 20:41

Oh I want some stovies NOW!

Must remember to get my mum to show me how to make them next time I'm home

snigger · 13/01/2009 20:43

Depends where in Scotland your mum came from :

Edinburgh stovies use sausage
Angus stovies use potted haugh and gravy dripping
West coast stovies are maybe more about mince, I don't know.

DH is Edinburgh roots and makes his sausagey, I'm Angus and use potted haugh (just one of our many argument flashpoints ), and natch, I prefer mine.

Serve with oatcakes or skirlie.

numnumnum

Original poster
Penthesileia · 13/01/2009 20:45

God - the pictures! I'd kill for some stovies now...!

Thank you, Macdog! I will have to try all those recipes until I find my fav!

Yes, do that, squeaver. My mum was an amazing cook and baker, and I didn't have time to learn any of her recipes or tricks.

OP posts:
hannahsaunt · 13/01/2009 20:59

Our Edinburgh stovies are left over roast beef. And they taste fab .

Aimsmum · 13/01/2009 21:02

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Penthesileia · 13/01/2009 21:14

Ah-ha! Controversy...!

Y'know - looking back, I think we had both roast beef and corned beef stovies when I was a child.

Does that make my mum some kind of heretic?

OP posts:
Aimsmum · 13/01/2009 21:19

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Penthesileia · 13/01/2009 21:22

You're probably right, Ainsmum!

It's funny. Things like this remind me how poor my mum and dad were for much of my childhood. Yet I had no idea at the time. It's only looking back that I realise how much they struggled, but they kept it from us so well!

OP posts:
Caz10 · 13/01/2009 21:29

sausages here in the west!

AMumInScotland · 13/01/2009 21:33

Leftovers! Could be leftover from a joint, could be sliced ham, anything at all....

flossie64 · 13/01/2009 21:37

I am not scottish ,but lived in aberdeen for a long time and they make theirs with roast beef.
My DH who was brought up in Wales ,loves them.

Aimsmum · 13/01/2009 21:52

Message withdrawn

pasturesnew · 13/01/2009 22:11

Out of interest, what is rumbledethumps then?

Original poster
Penthesileia · 13/01/2009 22:12

Scots name for Bubble & Squeak.

OP posts:
MrsMuddle · 13/01/2009 22:16

I had posh stovies in a restaurant recently -chicken and black pudding topped with dauphinoise potatoes. It was heavenly.

liath · 13/01/2009 22:18

I had corned beef stovies tonight with tomato ketchup. They were bloody lovely.

Original poster
Penthesileia · 13/01/2009 22:18

Sounds yummy!

Though - "post stovies" = oxymoron, no?

OP posts:
deste · 14/01/2009 20:12

Corned beef stovies is Hash. Stovies in Aberdeen definitely left over roast beef, made with sausages does not appeal.

mawbroon · 14/01/2009 20:27

Mine are not real stovies, because i do them in the pressure cooker, but they are a not bad compromise.

Tatties, onions and corned beef.

There seem to be many variations on the stovies theme. Do you remember roughly what your mums stovies were like? Some are fairly dry, others a sloppy and lots are somewhere in between.....

pushchair · 14/01/2009 20:27

Mince here and my mum is from Fife. Pity my soft southern DDs won't eat it.

mawbroon · 14/01/2009 20:28

Oh, and don't mash them on your ceramic hob top.

Mine split in half on Monday night after one mash

In fairness, the hob was already chipped, so was weakened....

Original poster
Penthesileia · 14/01/2009 20:38

I remember them as being reasonably dry, though not very, IYSWIM...

I think what I like so much about them is the mixing of it all with potato. I like potato mashed and mixed with other foods.

Eg. Another childhood fave, mince and tatties: I used to make a big mush of it all; similarly, if I have a baked potato, I like to smoosh all the filling and potato together.

Scrummy!

Sadly, my DH is continental, and thinks such cuisine is evidence of my barbarism!

I will educate DD differently, though!

mawbroon! Oops!

OP posts: