Haggis Pasta Bolognese in Red Wine Sauce

Haggis pasta in a bolognese style sauce is the perfect way to use up leftovers, it features a simple red wine sauce and cherry tomatoes

You can prep all of the ingredients whilst the wine is reducing which gives this recipe a massive flavour and the whole thing cooks in around 40 minutes.

Haggis Ragu

I love a good bolognese style ragu sauce, and certainly do not restrict myself to beef or pork.

This stunning haggis pasta bolognese joins dishes recipes as diverse as sardine ragu, spicy chicken pasta and duck ragu.

This is a rare foray into developing leftover recipes for me, I usually am far too greedy and enjoy cooking too much to have leftovers.

But this dish was developed after a request from my wife to come up with a Balmoral chicken recipe for her and as a result, leftovers were inevitable.

Honestly, it is just as good as the stuffed chicken and it is stupidly simple.

I’ll not go into the history or contents of haggis. If you are looking for recipes that use it then you know what it is and how wonderful it tastes.

It is gloriously herby, bold and really peppery, which means very little effort needs to go into turning it into a herby bolognese-style sauce.

All I do is reduce a little red wine to intensify the flavour. Then I add some anchovies for more umami and tomatoes for sharp sweetness.

That’s it job done and it is stunning!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cook haggis?

As I mentioned in a previous recipe, I have steered away from giving instructions on cooking haggis because it is important that it is cooked properly.

You should follow th instructions and timings from the company you got the haggis from.

Do I have to use the anchovies?

We have lungs, heart, kidneys, liver and you are balking at anchovy lol?

No, it can be left out but it does add a wonderful roundness to the dish.

Why do you reduce the wine before adding it to the ragu?

Reduced wine is at the heart of many ragu style dishes, it usually happens whilst the meat cooks. However here the meat is already cooked and as a result, I give the wine a head start.

This means that this recipe is, comparatively speaking, a quick bolognese-style sauce.

What sort of wine should I use?

Haggis has a big and bold, peppery and herby flavour and you need a wine that will match up to that. I typically use a syrah or shiraz as I find its flavour is the most complimentary.

Can I use regular tomatoes?

Yup, just cut them up into 1-1.5cm (½”) chunks, but it is best if you discard at least half of the pulp and seeds.

Serving Suggestions

This is a really simple pasta dish and consequently really does not need anything to serve with it.

Having said that there will be some wonderful juices and some of that big and bold thick sauce in the bottom of the bowl.

That sauce begs to be mopped up with a little bread, I would personally use some focaccia or ciabatta.

But my wife insists on garlic bread, that is not just this recipe, she just always wants garlic bread!

There are many different types of pasta that this haggis ragu works well with.

Here I have used mezzi rigatoni, short tubes, but you could use everything from pappardelle to spaghetti and linguine to penne.

If you have a little leftover you can even use this ragu to stuff some air fryer arancini!

Equipment Used

I only recommend specific brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comment section below the recipe.

• Stovetop.
• Chopping board.
• Sharp kitchen knife.
• Medium (20cm or 8″) saucepan.
• Small (15-18cm or 6-7″) saucepan.
• Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
• Sieve or colander.