I am new to cooking Scots dishes. I am not sure I am getting Stovies right. In fact I am sure it is not supposed to be a burnt mess at the bottom of the saucepan, but that is what I am ending up with. The recipes I have seen say to use butter or dripping and just a little water. And are the potatoes meant to be sliced or in chunks?

Also, mince and tatties - is it like a sort of separated cottage pie, or is the mince meant to be more like a sauce?

And porridge (or is it porage, like on the box?) - is it supposed to taste salty?

Just got married to a Scotsman who likes his traditional food but has no idea how it is made (he claims ) , his mum would have been the ideal source of advice but sadly no longer with us, and a bit shy of asking new neighbours such basic questions.

Cooking problems aside, I love living here.

Stovies is really only potatoes with onion and corned beef or sausage mashed through them leaving some lumpy bits. You don't want a puree.

THIS to me is stovies.
THIS to me is some kind of weird soup / slop - maybe prison version of stovies?

Mince and tatties is separated cottage pie if your tatties are mashed but he might prefer boiled tatties with his mince.

Porridge is how you like it - salty or sweet. You add sugar or salt accordingly at the table.

ETA Thanks for the post. I'll be having stovies tonight.

What Jackie said.

And now I want stovies too

Edit: Ooooh I remember I went through a phase of not really liking the tatties in my mums mince and tatties, so had a bowl of mince with bread to dip in - AKA dooky mince. Blimmin lovely.
Last edited by petral_gal : 02-01-2014 at 20:05

There are lots of regional variations with stovies, for me it's boiled ( not sliced) potatoes , beef links and a bit of onion. Mix up a little powdered bisto with water and throw that in. The secret with good stovies is the consistency which must be neither too thick or thin although I always err on the thicker side. But like anything else in cooking it has to be well seasoned with salt and pepper.
Porridge, I think, is best made with water and plenty of salt! I detest it sweet. But I know plenty of people who like it in a puddle of milk and a sprinkle of sugar.

You might find what you need here
http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/

Thank you Jackie - the photos made the recipe make sense, and that rampantscotland website is very helpful, cheers cdt. Last night's attempt was much better, and seconds were requested.

I like mince with rice, and I think my OH would probably like his with chips!

Either way, it can be sweet or savoury according to taste.