A chef who cooks authentic Mexican food for the north-east is serving up a twist on a Scottish classic – goat haggis.
Martha Doyle, who owned the El Tajin Mexican restaurant in Montrose before striking up as a home-delivery service, is bringing the fusion food to the Rothiemurchus food festival on Friday June 3 near Aviemore.
The goat haggis will be available alongside Martha’s other Mexican dishes, including the famous goat tacos she served at El Tajin.
It is only the second time Martha has made goat haggis, which uses offal from a goat farm in Lunan Bay.
She first cooked it three years ago for a Burns Night Supper in Montrose to tremendous success – she converted a whole room of non-haggis eaters.
“They said they didn’t like haggis,” Martha recalls. “But when they tried the goat, they said: ‘Well, we can eat this no problem!'”
Goat haggis vs Scottish haggis
The chef is confident Rothiemurchus will be similarly won over by the haggis, which Martha says has a smoky taste from the seasoning she uses.
But she deftly sidesteps questions on whether her goat haggis is better than regular haggis.
“I wouldn’t dare say that,” she says with a laugh. “I will be thrown out of the Scottish culinary scene!”
Martha’s other dishes at Rothiemurchus are also sure to be a hit. The chef makes a vegetarian version of her goat tacos, and one with brisket meat.
But it is the goat tacos she is most enthusiastic about, explaining how the meat is cooked overnight in a steamer until it is falling off the bone.
“The meat never touches the water,” Martha says. “It’s only by the steam. That tenderises the meat and the flavours.”
Back to business
The Rothiemurchus event is a rare chance for the north-east to get their hands on Martha’s goat recipes.
The chef, who is from Veracruz in Mexico and moved to Scotland via two years in Singapore, works as a sous chef in a restaurant in Aberfeldy after stepping away from El Tajin and its home-delivery incarnation, El Tajin at Home.
However, Martha is keen to get back to running her own business. And fans of her food will be delighted to hear she is ready to get back to out-of-home catering.
“I’m so grateful,” Martha says. “Now that everything is opening, I’m getting a lot of emails asking me to do lots of events.”
Her long-term aim is to correct preconceptions around Mexican food, which many people lump in with the US-influenced Tex Mex.
For Martha, Mexican food is much more complex that chimichangas and quesadillas.
“The influences on Mexican cooking comes from so many places,” she says. “From Hispanic, to French, for example. And we have four seasons in Mexico – the geography and the climate make such an impact, from north to south, to east to west.”
Where to find Martha’s Mexican goat haggis and tacos
The Platinum Jubilee Food Festival at Rothiemurchus is on Friday June 3, from 11am to 3pm. Martha will be among the food & drink stalls in a big red gazebo.
For catering services, contact Martha at jesymar47@hotmail.com or through her Instagram page.
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