WITH Burns Night coming just around the corner, a traditional Scottish meal is the perfect way to celebrate the occasion.

And haggis, being one of Scotland's most popular delicacies, it is exactly the type of dish people love to whip up at this time of year.

Haggis, which is like a crumbly sausage but with a coarse oaty texture and warming peppery texture, is usually served on Burns Night.

This is mostly down to the man himself, Robert Burns, one of Scotland's most celebrated poets.

In his lifetime, haggis would have been a very cheap and highly nourishing meal that poor families could prepare.

And he was well known for being a lover the meal, which he dedicated his poem ‘Address to a Haggis’ to as he humorously celebrates his love for it.

It is usually served with neeps (which is mashed turnip) and tatties (mashed potato) and is washed down with a wee dam of whisky.

If you want to impress your friends and family with the perfect haggis dish on Burns Night, listen up. 

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You probably think that you've got the recipe nailed, but it turns out you might be doing it wrong…

And it turns out, how you want to serve it could make a big difference.

The Scottish Sun spoke to James Macsween, Managing Director of Macsween of Edinburgh who specialise in the tastiest haggis dishes, for his top advice.

James explained: "I guess it all depends on how much time you've got and the type of meal you want to make with haggis.

"If your sitting down with family and friends you might want to spend more time on it and preparing your own dish.

"If it was more formal, I would put haggis in the oven. That's how I would normally do it.

"If I didn't have the extra time, I would put it in the microwave – it comes out just as hot and just as tasty.

"Equally they both work well, but my personal preference would be bake in the oven, wrap it tightly in with tinfoil a casserole dish with water and put it in the oven.

"I would then get set on preparing the neeps and tatties and veg – and prepare it in a way that it's ready for mashing.

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"I usually dice the neeps so that they're ready around the same time at the potatoes – that's just a wee trick I learned.

"You also might want to have some salt, pepper, some nutmeg, and butter for mash to in with the potatoes."

For the perfect sauce, James has exactly what you're after.

He added: "If you want a whisky cream sauce, we sell that and it goes fantastically well with haggis but equally goes well with steak and chicken.

"Veggie haggis – the world's first veggie haggis was created by my late father – was created for vegans.

"It's a healthy and meat free alternative for those who don't eat meat or are reducing their meat consumption.

"Basically there's a haggis for every consumer – our veggie one has been approved by the vegetarian and vegan society.

"There's also a gluten free haggis for something kinder for those with an intolerance."

If you're looking for something more quirky and less traditional but still tasty for the special occasion, James offers a variety of options,.

He said: "If you have less time and you need a quicker meal, I'd leave out the neeps and tatties and create something different.

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"This could be either a on baked potato or on beans and toast.

"It's incredibly versatile – you can even slice it and layer it on a margarita pizza and have a haggis margarita pizza.

"The thing with haggis is don't take it too seriously.

"Have some fun with it, it's Scotland's national dish – not just for Burns night, eat it outwith the month of January.

"It's an affordable, satisfying dish and should be on more people's shopping list."

As a special treat, James is offering Scots the chance to join him for a lesson on how to cook haggis for free on Burns Night.

On January 25, he's hosting a virtual event at 7.30pm from Edinburgh with Benriach in partnership with Waitrose.

This event means customers and consumers can join in to watch and be told how to cook haggis and enjoy it and have a whisky tasting with Benriach's master Blender, Rachel Barrie. 

All the info is below on this and a link to the event is here.

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