Scottish stovies are the ultimate comfort food. Made with the leftovers from Sunday’s roast dinner, they’re a super easy Monday meal. Serve with oatcakes and sliced beetroot for the perfect Sunday leftover meal.
Scottish comfort food at its finest
Nothing beats a proper Sunday roast lamb, except perhaps for the leftovers.
There will be no cooking on Monday, woohoo! Leftover roast lamb is an incredibly versatile ingredient—you can make it into soups, sandwiches, stir-fries, or, as we do here in Scotland, stovies!
Scottish stovies are comfort food at its finest, and this slow-cooked dish can be enjoyed wherever you live in the British Isles or worldwide. Every family has its own way of making it, and the beauty of this ‘recipe’ (and I use the word loosely), is that you can make it however you want. Use whatever leftovers you’ve got – cubed roast lamb, leftover roast vegetables, leftover gravy – and make it as solid or liquid as you like by adjusting the quantities accordingly.
Serve with lashings of brown sauce, if desired. An ice-cold glass of milk often accompanies, too.
Ingredients for Scottish Stovies
- lard (or butter or olive oil)
- brown onion
- leftover Sunday roast lamb
- turnip
- potatoes
- leftover lamb gravy
- water
- salt
- pepper
How to make Scottish Stovies
- Heat lard in a large pan over medium-high heat and fry the onions until they soften (don’t let them colour!).
- Add your diced, cold, leftover roast lamb.
- Add half of a small peeled, chopped turnip.
- Cover with a layer of peeled, thickly sliced potatoes.
- Pour in any leftover gravy you have and enough water to reach just under the layer of potatoes.
- Pop the lid on and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, shaking the pan occasionally.
Stovies – Cookery for Northern Wives
In 1925, Shetlander Margaret B. Stout published a cookery book about Shetland Islands recipes: Cookery for Northern Wives. One of these recipes was for stovies, which she describes as:
- One and a half pounds of Mutton.
- One pound of potatoes.
- Pepper and Salt.
- One onion. Half a small Turnip.
- One tablespoonful of Suet.
Method: Cut mutton up finely; chop suet; put these into pan and pour on enough boiling water to cover; simmer gently for one hour. Chop onion finely, grate turnip and potato; add these and stew gently for another hour; season and serve hot.
This is a perfect example of simple, honest Scottish home cooking, and that is why I include turnip in this Stovies recipe. You could also include carrots or any leftover roast vegetables from your Sunday roast. Just add these in at the end of cooking to warm through.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Traditional Scottish Stovies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp lard or butter or olive oil
- 1 large brown onion finely chopped
- 450 grams leftover roast lamb cubed
- 0.5 small turnip peeled and chopped
- 700 grams potatoes peeled and thickly sliced
- 250 ml leftover lamb gravy
- cold water to cover
- Shetland sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Heat 2 tbsp lard in a large pot over medium-high heat. Fry 1 large brown onion, sliced, until softened, but without colouring it.
- Add 450 grams leftover roast lamb, cubed, and 0.5 small turnip, diced.
- Layer over 700 grams potatoes, peeled and sliced, and pour over 250 ml leftover lamb gravy.
- Add enough cold water to come up just underneath the layer of the potatoes.
- Season well with Shetland sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, pop the lid on and simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
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Date and Oat Muffins
No good reading recipes when I am hungry – this looks amazing
Looks and sounds delicious. Perfect for a chilly evening to warm you up.
Now this is proper comfort food for sure. My other half would love this xx
Such a lovely recipe, perfect to use up leftover meat and reduce waste.
What a hearty dish, it looks so yummy and filling, definitely want this for the weekend.
Ooh this looks like my kind of meal! I love proper, filling, hearty recipes, although in this house there is never left overs, haha!
Now this sounds like a delicious recipe. It seems like it would be really warming and filling to tuck into at the end of a long day.
This sounds like the sort of recipe my husband would love. He enjoys a meaty, hearty meal.