Bashed Neeps

By ANNA PRINCEVA

This is a traditional accompaniment to Haggis. The turnip in Scotland is commonly 'brassica rapa', rutabaga or Swedish turnip. In England it is called a swede. It was introduced to Scotland in the late eighteenth century by Patrick Miller of Dalswinton. He was a wealthy man, a director of the Bank of Scotland and Chairman of the Carron Iron Company, and had a passionate interest in mechanical and agricultural improvement. King Gustav III of Sweden was a satisfied customer of Carron, and he presented Miller with a gold, diamond-encrusted snuff-box bearing a miniature of himself, containing rutabaga seeds. In this way the 'swede' came to Scotland. The box and its accompanying letter can still be seen in the British Museum in London.