Upcoming Sustainable Food Restaurants in Cambridge

1. Canteen, 983 Massachusetts Ave., 02139. Halfway between Harvard and Central, where Friendly Eating Place used to be. Their site says: Bringing the ingredients from fine dining to fast food... [The owner's] ideology: that local, seasonal and sustainably sourced ingredients are intrinsically better, and that these ingredients form the most significant part of what makes great food great. Due to open on January 25, 2010 (which is, incidentally, Burns Night).
   
   
2. East By Northeast: 1128 Cambridge St., 02139. Just outside Inman Square, where Benatti was. A Boston Globe article says: The food will be local, sustainable, Chinese-inspired cuisine, according to Tang: small dishes, dumplings, all manner of porky items (Tang will be getting whole pigs from Vermont), and--la! I think I just heard the angels sing--house-made noodles. Due to open in early December.
   

Haggis Hunters

If you don't find yourself out on a hillside in the highlands, and you are not able to hunt your haggis but must purchase it, I can refer you to:

British Food and Imports 1 Court St Plymouth MA 02360 508 747 2972

As you might imagine, they offer a range of British items. A serviceable haggis they sell, aye, although it has nae lungs in't, and it is not stuffed in a sheep's stomach, but rather in plastic. My understanding is that the lungs and stomach are not legal in the US. But maybe next time I'll make my own haggis, so I can use sausage casing rather than plastic.

Burns Supper Hangover

You've just hosted a winning Burns Supper. But blast! You have enough tatties and neeps left over to feed the cast of Braveheart for a month! What to do? Consistent with the general Scottish feeling that deep-frying anything makes it better, a feeling not foreign to my American shores, I present:

Tattie and Neep Croquettes

Equipment:

• a mixing bowl
• a deep skillet or chicken fryer, ideally cast iron, like this
  
• spoons and spatulas for mixing and cooking
  
• some paper towels
• (optional) a slotted spoon or spider

Ingredients:

• tatties
• neeps
• eggs
• salt
• pepper
• oil or fat for deep frying
  
• (optional) truffle oil

Recipe:

1. If your skillet is cast iron, preheat it over medium heat.
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix tatties and neeps, roughly 2 to 1. Add salt and pepper to taste. (And don't be afraid to taste.) If your tatties don't already have truffle oil in them, then for God's sake, add some! Add one beaten whole egg for each cup or two of vegetable. Mix well.
   
3. Using your hands, form the mixture into croquettes. These can be very similar to Tater Tots (but are more expensive, because they sound French). You can also make them into small patties, which fry nicely.
   
4. Spread the paper towels on a plate, ready to receive the croquettes when you are done frying them.
   
5. Place the skillet on medium heat, and add your oil or fat, a couple of inches deep. (A word about your choice of frying fat. For the purist, I suppose rendered sheep fat would be the only option. For the rest of us, options include other animal fats, olive oil, clarified butter, and coconut oil.)
6. When the oil is hot (which you can test by throwing a tiny bit of vegetable mixture into it and waiting for it to sizzle), gently put your croquettes into the pan, being mindful not to crowd them. If you have a lot of croquettes, or a smaller pan, do them in batches. Don't splash oil on your hands if you can help it.
7. Carefully turn the croquettes every minute or so, until they are a nice golden-brown shade on all sides. Total cooking time will depend on the size of the croquettes, the heat of your stove, the moisture content of your vegetables, and too many other factors to list here. So keep your eye on them.
   
8. Remove the croquettes from the oil (with the slotted spoon if you have one) and put them on the paper towel.
   
9. (Repeat with subsequent batches, until you are done.)

Serve hot, warm, or cold, with fancy home-made mayonnaise and parsley.