Stovies
Potatoes and onions slowly "stoved" in dripping with leftover roast meat: Scotland's great thrifty supper.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- Easy
Stovies take their name from the Scots verb to stove, meaning to stew slowly in a covered pot. Every family has its own version, but the idea never changes: potatoes and onions cooked gently in dripping and stock with whatever is left of the Sunday roast, until the potatoes are half-crushed and the bottom catches a little.
In Scotland they are traditionally eaten with oatcakes and a glass of milk, or pickled beetroot on the side.
Ingredients
- 2tbspbeef dripping or butter
- 2onions, sliced
- 1kgfloury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled and cut into chunks
- 300mlbeef stock, or leftover roast gravy topped up with water
- 350gleftover roast beef or lamb, chopped, or corned beef
- salt and plenty of ground black pepper
- oatcakes, to serve
Equipment
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Method
- 1
Melt the dripping in a large, heavy pan with a lid. Add the onions and cook gently for 10 minutes until soft and just starting to colour.
Photo: DocteurCosmos · CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - 2
Add the potatoes and stir to coat them in the fat. Pour in the stock, season, cover tightly and cook on a low heat for 30 minutes, shaking the pan now and then.
Photo: gran · CC BY 3.0 (cropped) - 3
Stir in the meat, breaking up some of the potatoes as you go. Cover and cook for another 10–15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and some have crushed into the liquid. Let the bottom catch slightly for flavour, but don't let it burn.
Tips
A heavy casserole dish with a tight lid is ideal: stovies cook in their own steam.
No leftovers? Brown 400 g of minced beef or sliced sausages with the onions instead.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Burnt on the bottom | Heat too high or too little liquid | Keep the heat low; add a splash of stock if it looks dry |
| Watery | Waxy potatoes | Use floury potatoes, which break down and thicken the pot |
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