Baked Scotch Eggs
Although I value my quiet time in the morning at home while doing the chores, cooking, writing or photographing, I cannot say no to a child who fixes me with a pleading stare that she doesn't want to go to school that morning because she doesn't feel so great. Conferring with my husband, we ride her through the whole nine yards of "medical check-up" which we knew anyway would come out negative of anything. What can I say? Kids learn fast.
But we knew the main reason why our 3-year old wanted to skip school that morning. Her older brother had been staying home since the day before because he was down with a fever. She was learning to be smart. And I played along. I told her she can stay home but the two of them had to stay out of trouble or else. Or else. I have not even finished my sentence yet when both started jumping out of their beds and running towards the other part of the house to watch TV. It was a promise of a long, noisy day.
Sometimes, our kids can become a handful but after watching the recent tragedy in Connecticut at the news, I took a long, hard look at the kids and willed myself to forget the extreme noise and big mess they create around the house every single minute. I am not denying the fact that they drive me crazy when I walk inside the sitting room or their room and they are beyond recognition. Or clean-up time before going to bed becomes a frenzied drama that stretches the last of our energy and willpower taut. They are not kids forever and I should just enjoy their childlike ways. The important thing is, they are with us, we get to hold each other and we are together as a family in one place that we call home. I am grateful for that.
Let's move on to the scotch eggs. I already had these eggs in mind for that day's lunch because as soon as I
watched Lorraine Pascale's show when she made these, I was, let's say,
encouraged to make my own. I'm lying. I was way more than encouraged. I couldn't wait to get my hands
on fresh sausages so I can make them too. So my ingredients were
complete that morning. I was ready to start working. And there was no better time to eat them. Both kids were home and they love salsicce (sausages) and hard boiled eggs.
Scotch eggs are fried. Period. But because I saw that Lorraine Pascale
baked them, I went for that road too. Avoiding the frying is always
better especially for the kids. They didn't turn out as golden brown
and crunchy looking as the fried ones but the taste was a sure winner. I
loved them and the kids wolfed down more than the amount I
anticipated. I remained with one scotch egg to photograph. For that reason, I didn't have enough in the picture.
I will definitely make them again because the kids proclaimed them as "Buonissime!" (Very good!).
Baked Scotch Eggs
Ingredients:Makes 4
- 4 eggs, boiled for 5 minutes
- 5 sausages, casings removed
- 1 - 2 eggs, lightly beaten (the recipe called for 2 but I was left with so much so I would suggest just 1 egg)
- breadcrumbs for coating (about 1 cup)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or fresh oregano)
- flour for coating (about 1/2 cup)
- salt & pepper
- pinch of mustard powder
- pinch of grated nutmeg
- extra virgin olive oil
- Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Put the 4 eggs. Simmer for 6 - 7 minutes (in Lorraine's recipe, it was 5 minutes. They came out too soft to peel.) then transfer to a bowl of cold water. Let them cool.
- Peel the boiled eggs carefully. A 6 - 7-minute cooking is not perfectly hard boiled yet so this process can be tricky. Set aside.
- Prepare 3 bowls for dipping and coating the eggs. Bowl #1 should have the flour mixed with mustard powder, salt & pepper. Bowl #2 should have a slightly beaten egg. Bowl #3 should contain the breadcrumbs mixed with grated nutmeg, fresh thyme leaves, salt & pepper.
- Lay a piece of cling wrap, lightly sprayed or rubbed with oil on your working board. Get about 1 1/4 of the sausages without casing and flatten like a disc on the cling wrap.
- Dip the boiled egg in the bowl of flour and coat well.
- Put the coated egg on the sausage disc then close the cling wrap by twisting the top. Make sure the egg remains at the center of the ball. Peel away the cling wrap from the scotch egg. Continue shaping the scotch egg into a ball using your hands.
- Dip scotch egg in the bowl of the beaten egg. Cover everything.
- Roll on the breadcrumb mixture. Coat the whole egg evenly.
- Do the same process to the remaining eggs.
- Put the eggs on an oiled baking pan.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celcius for about 25 - 35 minutes or until golden brown.
