Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (2024)

Author: Karon Grieve

Recipe

No Burns supper or self respecting haggis wouold be complete without clapshot, that deliciously creamy mixture of potatoes and swede, chives and the very best butter.

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (1)

What is clapshot?

A strange word I know but actually it originates in the Orcadian dialect where the dish of clapshot comes from.

Clapshot is a simple vegetable dish of mixed turnips (swede if you live in England, turnip if you life in Scotland!) and potatoes. They are mashed together with chopped up chives for extra flavour and lots of creamy butter. O

Originally dripping would be used to mash the vegetables together but nowadays butter is more commonly used.

Clapshot is traditionally served with haggis on Burns Night.

Check out my other traditional Scottish recipes here on Larder Love.

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (2)

Ingredients

  • Turnip, or swede if you life south of the border.
  • Potatoes (any good mashing potatoes are fine here, I like King Edwards or Marris Piper potatoes.
  • Butter
  • Chives
  • Salt and pepper

Alternative ingredients

You can use onion instead of chives, but don’t use too much or you will overpower the dish.

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (3)
Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (4)
Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (5)

How to make clapshot

  • Peel and chop the potatoes and turnip and cut into cubes of similar size
  • Boil these in salted water till both are tender
  • Drain and mash the vegetables together. I like to keep a wee bit of texture in my clapshot and not make it uniformly smooth. It’s up to you if you want it to be completely creamy or have a bit of texture.
  • Beat through the butter and snipped up chives and season well with salt and black pepper.

Top with some extra snipped chives and a knob of butter.

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (6)

Make ahead

You can make your clapshot up to a day in advance and just keep it covered in the fridge, cover with foil and reheat in the oven when you are ready to serve the dish.

Storage

You can keep this in the fridge for up to 2 days in a covered container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thorughly before reheating till piping hot.

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (7)

How to serve clapshot

Traditionally clapshot is served alongside haggis instead of seperate neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes).

Serve your clapshot with any hearty winter stew.

Clapshot goes perfectly with a roast chicken, pork or beef or just with a steak or chops, whatever you fancy.

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (8)

Looking for more vegetable side dishes to make at home? Then check out these recipes before you go;

Whisky glazed Vichy style carrots (+Video!)

Gigantes Plaka (Greek giant beans in rich tomato sauce)

Black eyed beans with fennel and spinach

Greek warm leek salad (prasosalata)

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.

Traditional Scottish Clapshot

Karon Grieve

A super easy and tasty dish of mashed potatoes and turnip traditionally served with haggis but perfect with lots of other dishes too

4.58 from 7 votes

Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Side vegetable dish

Cuisine Scottish

Servings 4 people

Calories 136 kcal

Ingredients

  • 500 g potatoes
  • 500 g turnip swede (its the same thing)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp chives finely chopped
  • salt and pepper

MetricUS Customary

Instructions

  • Peel and chop the potatoes and turnip into pieces about 1.5cm and place in a pan with enough water to cover, add salt and bring to the boiol cover and boil for about 20 minutes till tender,

  • Drain and mash the vegetables together in the pan, add the butter and most of the chives (reserve some to decorate the dish) and salt and pepper

  • Serve with extra chives and a knob of butter

Video

Notes

Serve clapshot with haggis for a traditional Burns Supper. However, it goes just as well with a traditional roast dinner or with pork chops, steak etc.

Nutrition

Calories: 136kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 99mgPotassium: 780mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 80IUVitamin C: 52mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 1mg

My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!

Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!) - Larder Love (2024)

FAQs

Why is it called clapshot? ›

Nobody truly knows the exact reason why this potato and swede dish is called Clapshot, and it is a curious name. Some say that it is a nod to the noise that the masher makes against the pot when combining the two vegetables together, as it can sound like and be reminiscent of gunfire.

What is a Scottish mixture of potatoes and turnips often eaten with haggis? ›

Neeps and Tatties

When served alongside Haggis, the meal in its entirety is called a “Burns supper”. Healthy and delicious, neeps and tatties is just another name for potatoes and turnips and can be found featured in many different kinds of Scottish dishes.

Are neeps turnips? ›

Well, “neeps” is just the Scots word for swede – that hard winter vegetable that people also use in soups and stews. You might also hear Scottish people saying “nips”, which is much more obviously short for “turnips”. It's a hard job to peel and chop the neeps, and then we boil and mash, then add a bit of seasoning.

What do Scottish people call potato? ›

tatte; taut(t)ie, tawtie; tatoe, tatto(w), tatta; tottie (Gsw. 1947 J. F. Hendry Fernie Brae 128). [ ′tɑ(:)te, ‡-tə] 1. A potato (Rnf.

What do the British call mashed potatoes? ›

Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American, Canadian and Australian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a side dish to meat or vegetables.

Why is haggis illegal in the US? ›

Legality. In 1971, it became illegal to import haggis into the US from the UK due to a ban on food containing sheep lung, which constitutes 10–15% of the traditional recipe. The ban encompasses all lungs, as fluids such as stomach acid and phlegm may enter the lung during slaughter.

What is the Scottish word for the mashed potatoes eaten on Burns Night? ›

The haggis is traditionally served with mashed potatoes (tatties) and mashed swede turnip (neeps).

What is the national food of Scotland? ›

Haggis. Haggis is our national dish, and the first recipe dates back to the 15th century (in recorded history).

Who should not eat turnips? ›

If you experience food allergy symptoms like hives, itching or swelling after consuming turnips, discontinue use and consult with your doctor immediately. Cruciferous vegetables like turnips are also considered goitrogenic, which means that they may interfere with the production of thyroid hormones.

What are neeps called in America? ›

It's also known as yellow turnip, Swedish turnip and Russian turnip and, in America, rutabaga. In Scotland, where it's known as neeps, swede is the traditional accompaniment to haggis on Burns Night. Swede has a round shape and a purple-green skin, and the flesh is yellowy-orange, with a sweet, earthy flavour.

What is the most popular vegetable in Scotland? ›

The results of a new survey released forDiabetes Weekhas found that strawberries are Scotland's favourite fruit with 20 per cent of the public vote. The accolade of favourite vegetable goes to broccoli (18 per cent).

Where did clapshot originate? ›

Clapshot is a traditional Scottish dish that originated in Orkney and may be served with haggis, oatcakes, mince, sausages or cold meat.

What is the meaning of clapshot? ›

Noun. clapshot (uncountable) A traditional Scottish dish made of boiled potatoes and boiled swede (or Scottish turnip) mashed together with chives. Often prepared on Burns night.

What do Scots call white turnips? ›

The difference between turnips and swede causes a lot of confusion. Scots often use the term turnip or neep interchangeably to describe a swede and white turnip! Turnips store really well. Once the green tops are cut off, they can keep for a couple of months in a dry, sealed place.

Why do they call it colcannon? ›

The first syllable 'col' is likely to be derived from the Irish 'cál' meaning cabbage. The second syllable may derive from 'ceann-fhionn' meaning a white head (i.e. 'a white head of cabbage') – this usage is also found in the Irish name for a coot, a white-headed bird known as 'cearc cheannan', or 'white-head hen'.

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