Smoked Scotch Eggs
One of my lasting memories of my paternal grandmother is her standing at the stove, frying pan sizzling away, pushing around a home made scotch egg which I knew was destined for my tummy. They were yummy. Let's face it, most scotch eggs are. But adding smoked eggs into the equation takes it to a whole other level. And soft boiled too... oh. my. word.
For the eggs:
6 free range eggs
1 shallot diced
300 g chestnut mushrooms
20 g butter
1 sprig of thyme
50 g creme cheese
1 tsp chopped parsley
2 eggs
50 ml milk
50 g flour
100 g breadcrumbs
Bring a big pan of water to the boil. Carefully lower in the eggs and cook for 8 minutes, the eggs should be slightly runny in the middle, run under a cold tap until they are completely cold and carefully peel off the shells.
Melt the butter in a pan and cook the shallots until soft. Finely chop the wild mushrooms and add to the pan. Thumb in the thyme, seasoning well. Cook until the mushrooms have darkened and most moisture has evaporated. Take off the heat and when it's cooled stir in the cream cheese and parsley.
In a piece of cling film, pat out a piece of mushroom filling large enough to envelope an egg. Put the egg in the middle and using the cling film, fold the egg around it so it is completely covered.
Remove the cling film and mould with your hands so there is an even thickness all the way around.
Repeat with all the other eggs and out in the fridge to firm up.
For the coating, whisk the egg and milk with a pinch of salt.
Dust the eggs in the flour and shake off the excess then dip into the egg mix and mix through the breadcrumbs, dip back through the eggs and into the crumb mix.
Place into the fridge to firm up. Meanwhile, heat a fat frier to 180* and brown the egg for 2minutes. Place in an oven at 200*c for 6minutes and serve warm with a good chutney or a garden salad.