Stovies
Photo: JSL595 · Public domain

History

Stovies began as a Sunday-roast leftover in nineteenth-century Edinburgh tenement kitchens, where the cold roast meat got reheated in dripping with onion and potato through Monday lunch. The dish carries no fixed recipe; family arguments over corned beef versus lamb and whether to add carrots are the working tradition. Burns Night suppers still serve stovies as the next-morning hangover plate, and Edinburgh pubs run it as the Sunday-evening special when the kitchen needs to clear down Monday's prep.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g cold roast lamb or corned beef, diced
  • 1kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper), peeled and sliced thick
  • 2 large onions, sliced
  • 60g beef dripping or butter
  • 400ml beef or lamb stock
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • Oatcakes, to serve

Method

  1. Melt the dripping in a heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 12 minutes until deep golden, stirring often.
  2. Add the diced meat. Toss to coat in the onion-fat for 2 minutes.
  3. Layer the sliced potatoes on top, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper.
  4. Pour the stock down the side. Cover tightly with a lid.
  5. Cook over very low heat for 1 hour, or in a 160C oven, until the potatoes have broken down and absorbed the stock.
  6. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to break up the potatoes into the meat. The texture should be a rough mash, not stew.
  7. Taste, season again, scatter with parsley.
  8. Serve in deep bowls with oatcakes on the side.

Tip from the editors. Stovies improves the next day. Make a double batch on Sunday, eat the rest on Monday.

Where to eat stovies

Stovies in Edinburgh

The Scran and Scallie ★ 4.5

££ Scottish GastropubStockbridge

Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack's Stockbridge gastropub in Edinburgh, opened in 2013, the casual sibling to The Kitchin running British classics in a Comely.

OrderFish and chips with mushy peas, or the Sunday roast that books out a week ahead.

TipChildren's menu is taken seriously here; meatballs and mash is a proper plate.

Directions Book

Howies ★ 4.0

££ Modern ScottishOld Town

Howies on Victoria Street in Edinburgh, the Old Town flagship of David Howie Scott's Scottish-bistro mini-chain opened in 1990, the city's everyday Scottish.

OrderHaggis bonbons with whisky cream as a starter and the Aberdeen Angus steak with peppercorn sauce.

TipPre-theatre two-course menu from 17:30-19:00 is the value play. The Waterloo Place branch is the second-best room.

Directions Book

The Dome ★ 4.1

£££ ScottishNew Town

The Dome on George Street in Edinburgh's New Town, opened in 1996 inside the former Commercial Bank building, a glass-domed grand brasserie room running.

OrderSmoked salmon platter at lunch and the roast beef Wellington at dinner under the central dome.

TipThe Georgian Tea Room at the back is a quieter alternative if the main hall feels too touristy at peak hours.

Directions Book

The Caley Picture House ★ 3.2

££ British gastropubTollcross West EndUntil Daily 01:00

The Caley Picture House on Lothian Road in Edinburgh, a JD Wetherspoon pub in a grade-B listed 1923 cinema, serving budget food from 08:00 until kitchen.

TryFull Wetherspoon kitchen including pies and burgers

TipThe listed art-deco interior is impressive regardless of the Wetherspoon context. Look up at the original ceiling before ordering.

Directions

All Edinburgh signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want stovies covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →