Stovies
This is pure Scottish soul-food. I was driving my American fiancee and her sister around Scotland, we got hungry, and they asked what my favourite dish was when growing up. I answered: "Stovies!" I told them it was rather difficult to explain, but just at that moment we came across a tourist-trap restaurant, so we stopped.
And OF COURSE the special of the day was Stovies, which the menu cheerily described as: "A subtle blend of potatoes, onions, and beef dripping." I couldn't really complain, because that's exactly what it is, but fiancee and sister had a field day: "Ewww ... I don't think it's quaite subtle enough. Perhaps just a drip more beef?" I blurted out: "But we always put on lots of salt and pepper!" That just fed the fire.
But the "beef dripping" is the glory of the dish. It refers to the fond and pan-juices that you get when roasting beef. My mom made it right in the roasting pan. The off-cuts of the roast went in and added more joy. Not roasting? Cut bacon into lardons, and fry to release fat. Leave them in there. Schmaltz will do in a pinch, but it can still be good with just lard or butter.
Beef dripping
Onions, sliced fairly rough
Boiled potatoes, cut fairly rough
Bacon lardons, roast beef trimmings(optional)
Lots of salt
Lots of fresh-ground pepper
Gently cook the onions in the dripping until soft. Turn the heat up a bit, add the spuds, and gently fry for as long as you like. Mix everything around once in a while, but leave them long enough for the spuds to brown in places. Serve in the traditional Scottish manner, where you take a spatula-full and "thwup" it down onto the plate, if your aim is good.
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That's the recipe, but I noticed an expired thread here about Scottish food. Yes, sure: "All Scottish cuisine was originally based on a dare" (Mike Meyers), but there is glorious cuisine in there, and I'll be happy to share with you. Cullen Skink runs rings around clam chowder.
And then there's always that mountain to climb: Haggis. I'll put up my hard-core recipe, with photos showing the whole disgusting process. Did you know that fresh lamb-lungs look like large bloody boogers, but when boiled, they take on the exact shape they were inside the lamb? Do you now wish you didn't know that? So do I...