Scotch eggs and other fillers

As mentioned in the previous post on the food festival, I am partial to a quail's egg or two and, having had success making hen's Scotch eggs before, I was keen to try Jamie Oliver's mini version.

With their varying speckledy shells, it seems a shame to peel these quail's eggs.



You simply boil the eggs in their shells for 2-3 minutes depending on how soft you like your yolks.

Pearly white peeled eggs resting on rare breed pork sausagemeat.

Having mixed some good quality sausagemeat (mine was from Martin's Farm, Hindolveston) with some sage, rosemary and nutmeg, flatten out a lump the size of a large marble and place the tiny egg in the middle. Bring up the meat around the egg, molding and shaping until the egg is in the centre and there are no gaps or holes in the outer layer. This can be tricky but imagine you are making a primary school-style clay pot. The layer of meat needs to thin but without breaking or splitting.



Breadcrumbs, flour and egg for dipping.

Next you roll the meat-covered egg ball in flour, then egg and then finally the breadcrumbs (I add a little turmeric and seasoning to my breadcrumbs). Place the finished eggs on a plate and refrigerate until you are ready to cook them.

The two big ones are made with hen's eggs because I had so much sausagemeat.

Shallow fry in hot oil until golden brown, turning over all the time

Remove the Scotch eggs from the oil when they are golden brown all over and place on some kitchen paper.

I'm afraid the quail version of these Scotch eggs disappeared so quickly into my children's mouths that I couldn't take a picture of them, but here is a snap of the hen version. I love my eggs soft boiled, but if you like your yolks firm, all you do is boil them in the water for longer. When you fry the Scotch eggs, the heat probably won't penetrate into the middle enough to firm up the yolks because the oil is so busy cooking the meat.

Fresh from the oven

In addition to the eggs, I made a couple of loaves to fill up the children the next day. My husband enjoys being in the garden more than having to worry about catering arrangements and at least with some fresh loaves, they can fill up on bread and jam.

The crusty white bread above is topped with our own poppy seeds collected from the garden. Thank you Barbara Jane for this suggestion.

Oaty honey bread mix from Denver Mill

The second loaf I made was a bread mix from the Denver Mill stall at the Norfolk Food Fair. I threw away the packet and can't remember what it was but I added honey and used fresh yeast. The loaf rose so quickly, it split slightly, but it had a wonderful flavour and looked very rustic!

I went on to make a courgette, onion and Parmesan quiche.

And my son finished the pastry by making a stack of raspberry jam tarts.

None of this food cost me much to make and proves that with a few essential store cupboard ingredients you can knock up a lot of food to feed a lot of children!