In my explorations into cuisine of the world, I have discovered that there are some foods that are universal. Pretty much every culture has some kind of a pancake. Sandwiches are another food that appears in countless regional variations. And people around the globe, regardless of nationality, have a love of gravy. Seriously, who doesn’t love gravy? And whether it is served with rice, noodles, dumplings or mashed potatoes, those gravy-based dishes are often described as home style or comfort food.
When Scotland was mentioned during our initial discussion about cultural foods we wanted to try, the only food I could think of was haggis. And there was no way I was going to make my family eat that. In fact, there is no way I was going to make myself eat that. Scottish shortbread came to mind as well, but I was trying to focus on meals rather than just desserts, so I knew some research was in order. I came across a number of recipes that looked tasty, sausage rolls for one, oatcakes, steak pie, but I when I came across a number of recipes for mince and tatties, I thought it would be a good option. In Scotland ground beef is called mince and tatties are potatoes, so the main ingredients were things I knew my family would eat. Add to that the fact that the mince is cooked in a lovely gravy, and I was pretty sure I had a winner.
We ate our mince and tatties this evening and as predicted, it was a hit. Gravy. Yum. Mashed potatoes. Yum. Carrots. Yum. It definitely fit the comfort food profile. And everybody liked it. It reminded Matthew of a family favorite, green beans and hamburger gravy minus the rice, but Malia loathes green beans, so the inclusion of carrots instead was a plus for her. The only alteration I needed to make to the recipe was the fact that peas are generally included in the gravy or served on the side. Matthew is allergic peas, so I left those out and served our meal with asparagus instead.
I suspect that mince and tatties will be appearing on our menu again. It was a simple to make variation on the theme of gravy.
Mince and Tatties: 4 forks
