Makes 12
Avebury Circle in Wiltshire is one of the amazing stone circles of Britain. It is much larger than Stoneheng. In fact it is so large that a village was built inside it in the 17th century. The Red Lion in the village of Avebury, is an excellent pub and the first place I |
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I had Scotch Eggs. It is a good place to put in for a lunch and a pint after a morning of exploring the ancient stones and visiting the nearby Kennet Long Barrow and the White Horse on the Hill. Scotch eggs can be a bit tedious to make. The problem lies in convincing the sausage meat to wrap its self around the hard boiled eggs and stay there while they are deep fried.
In pre WWII Scotland, Scotch Eggs were part of the Scottish country breakfast, being served with gravy, grilled bacon and sausages, fried eggs, porridge, baps (rolls) and jam. Today they are most usually served in pubs, cut in half and accompanied by brown mustard and chutney. Scotch Eggs, pickles, mustard and good ale are made for each other. They may be eaten hot, however I much prefer them cold and served with a bit of Sweet and Hot Brown Mustard and a pint of ale.
12 hard-boiled Eggs (small or medium)
1 ½ pounds of bulk sausage meat
1 ½ cups fine dry bread crumbs
2 raw eggs
1 teaspoon powdered mixed dry herbs, (Italian seasoning – if it isn’t powdered
use a blender or mortar and pestle)
2 tablespoons fresh, finely minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 raw eggs, beaten with about a tablespoon of cold water
Fine dry bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
Boil the eggs, cool, peel and leave to dry thoroughly. Put the next eight ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. Roll each egg in some of the remaining bread crumbs. Wet your hands and pat out some of the sausage mixture into a patty about 1/4 inch thick. Wrap this around one of the hard-boiled eggs. Cover the egg completely and smooth out the surface. Repeat until you have covered all the eggs with sausage. Heat about 3 inches of oil to deep-frying temperature in a large heavy skillet or wok.
While the oil is heating, dip a sausage covered egg in the beaten egg, shake off the excess and then roll in the bread crumbs. Shake off any excess. When the oil is ready, carefully lower the egg into the oil with a slotted spoon. Fry, turning frequently for 3 or 4 minutes or until the egg is golden brown. Remove the fried Scotch Egg from the hot oil with the slotted spoon and set on a layer of paper towels or brown paper bags to remove any excess oil. Continue with the remaining eggs. You can do 2 to 3 eggs at a time.
More picture of Avebury Circle |
