Vegan in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is one of my favourite places in the world to go to eat because they don't run screaming when you mention you are a vegan. Last year when I was there I went to the fantastic little bistro called Henderson's (actually, I went 3 times) and this time I went twice again.

Vegetable soup. This was actually kind of bland..

Bean pate. Very yummy.

The soup of the day: spinach et al. Ask for vegan butter.

The haggis.

Enchilada (not vegan in this picture but can be made vegan.)

Curry of the day chutney and yoghurt (not vegan but can be).

Bean burger.

We also ventured to another restaurant this time called David Bann. It's a vegetarian restaurant and it's absolutely stunning inside with fantastic service and some of the most delicious and unusual tastes I've ever eaten.

56-58 St Mary's Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SX
(Off the Royal Mile and the Cowgate)

The vegan beer selection was very good.

Smoked mushroom & basil tortellini w/ parsnip soup. 
(Not vegan)

Thai fritter of spiced broccoli and smoked tofu.

Jerusalem artichoke & creamed celeriac w/ puff pastry. 
(Not vegan)

Risotto of mushroom, leek and butternut squash. (Not vegan)

Organic Udon noodles w/ ginger red pepper 
sauce & home smoked tofu.

Soup of the day: broccoli et al (not vegan).

Smoked and marinated tofu. This was so delicious. 
Such unusual flavours.

Sweet potato, cauliflower and cashew nut curry.

Lentil dish. This was hearty and filling but the
flavours weren't as interesting as some of the other dishes.

Lemon and raspberry posset (not vegan).

Filo basket of warm orange caramel fruit with coconut rum 
sorbet. This was amazing. The fruit was warm and juicy and 
the syrup wasjust delicious in contrast to the subtle 
coconut sorbet. The only negative part about the dish was
that there wasn't enough sorbet.

Happy Hogmanay!

Yes, I'm well aware it's almost the end of January.

Where have I been?

Well, it definitely wasn't to see the Queen despite her relative closeness.

For the past few weeks I've been chained to my desk programming and writing reports for my upcoming assessment (upcoming in like two days). In between these moments I've been keeping up to date with the devastation in Brisbane (my home for the last 8 years) and other parts of Australia (including Grafton which was my home for 14 years). I also may or may not have become slightly addicted to watching The Vampire Diaries and may have neglected the blog a little in order to watch Elena and Stefan make out. I'm a sad, sad individual.

But before the floods, 150-year old vampires that are supposed to look 17 but are actually 30, and the numerical solvers Geoff and I spent Christmas and New Year in, and just out of, Edinburgh.

I've never been anywhere that celebrates Christmas and New Year like Edinburgh. And the weather was almost balmy! It was 5 degrees some days. A whole 5 degrees.

I'll make a separate post about the restaurants we ate at while we were visiting that beautiful city but for now let me just share some photos of my Christmas and Hogmanay experience.

Mulled wine at Sofi's.

Hot cider at Roseleaf.

Christmas day.

Moroccan Lentil Soup

Roast Vegetable Cous Cous and Stuffed Mushrooms

Hogmanay Torchlight Procession.

Princes St during the procession.

New Year's fireworks.

New Year's Day haggis feast with neets and tatties. I used Macsween.

And tonight's dinner will be...

When I was in Scotland my lovely friends Karen and Lindsay (alphabetically, Lindsay, don't panic) took me to Henderson's vegetarian restaurant in Edinburgh. Three times. The first time we went I ordered the vegetarian haggis (which is actually vegan) and it was one of the tastiest things I've had in a long time. The spices in among the lentils and oats of the haggis were delightful and the red wine gravy it was served with tasted delicious among the clapshot (which is Scottish for mashed potatoes and turnip). I ate it all, despite my rather full stomach, because it was just so damn delicious.

On our third visit I noticed that they sold a rather small little cookbook with the recipes in it. So I purchased it with my meal (a delicious vegetable pastry with ratatouille) and planned to make good use of it despite the fact that most of the recipes were vegetarian and not vegan. The haggis, however, is vegan.

So when Geoff and I were discussing what we should cook for tonight's dinner and I casually picked up the little cookbook and suggested haggis Geoff seemed to think it would be a hilariously good idea. So, tonight's dinner, from Henderson's Wholefood Cookbook, will be:

Henderson's Vegetarian Haggis with Clapshot
followed by
Banana and Tofu Cheesecake

The haggis in Henderson's was served with a red wine gravy which really made the dish. However, the cookbook doesn't seem to have a recipe for it so I am going to following a recipe I found here.

I also have no idea how to get my hands on a vegan flan case as the recipe for the cheesecake asks for so I'll have to improvise. The internet seemed a little varied in its definition of a vegan flan case.

Wish me luck!