Skirlie
Pinhead oatmeal fried for 15 minutes in butter with onion until toasted and crumbly, a Scottish side or stuffing.
Skirlie is mince's best friend, and it is tastier than it looks. It is oatmeal toasted in fat with onion until it turns crumbly and nutty, and it is eaten alongside beef and potatoes, or packed into a bird as a stuffing. Humble food, done well.
The onion goes into the butter first and cooks slowly until golden and soft; this takes ten minutes and gives the dish its sweetness. Add the oatmeal all at once and stir over a medium heat until it soaks up the fat. It looks like too much, but the oats swell slightly and toast to the colour of a digestive biscuit. Patience pays here.
Season boldly with salt and black pepper; oatmeal needs more than seems right. The result should be loose, dry and fragrant, not clumped or pasty. Spoon it onto the plate beside mince and tatties, or alongside roast chicken or a pie. Serve it hot.
How to Make Skirlie
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Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onions over a medium heat for 10 minutes until golden.
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Add the oatmeal and stir for 5 minutes until the oats have taken up the fat and begin to smell toasted.
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Season with the salt and pepper and serve hot.
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A Few Pointers
- Cook the onions slowly until golden before adding the oats.
- Keep the oatmeal moving so it toasts evenly.
- Use pinhead oatmeal for the best texture; rolled oats go soft.
Serve It With
Mince and tatties · Roast chicken · Haggis · Mashed neeps
Leftovers and Storage
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a dry pan.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published .
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