Jane Devonshire, MasterChef winner 2016, was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer when she was 46. Here, she shares a nduja scotch eggs recipe she created.
Not everything has to be sweet at your tea party and these wonderful little scotch eggs made with a soft-boiled quail’s egg are just the perfect food to snack on while you catch up with friends. They were certainly the first thing to go at my Afternoon Tea celebrating and raising funds for all the amazing work Breast Cancer Now do everyday.
Ingredients
Makes 12 Scotch Eggs
- 50g unsalted butter
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 550g Cumberland sausage meat (I use gluten-free)
- 50g nduja (spicy, spreadable pork sausage)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 quail’s eggs
- 200ml (approx.) cheap white wine vinegar
- 150g gluten-free panko breadcrumbs (or similar)
- 150g gluten-free plain flour
- 3 eggs
Method
You will need one bowl of iced water.
- Deep fat fryer set to 180°C or heavy bottom pan one third full.
- Gently sauté the onion in the butter until the onion is softened but not coloured. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Place the quail eggs into rapidly boiling water and cook for exactly 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Remove from boiling water and plunge into iced water. Leave for 2 to 3 minutes to cool. Remove and place in another bowl and cover eggs with the white wine vinegar.
- Leave for about 12 to 15 minutes. You will see the shells begin to fizz and bubble then all the speckles come off leaving the shell soft and easy to peel. Tap the flatter end of the shell to start peeling. Once peeled place in cold water to remove any debris. You might lose one or two eggs, one of mine cracked when boiling so don’t worry it happens.
- Mix the sausage meat, Nduja and cooked onion meat together really well making sure Nduja is evenly distributed.
- I find it easier to cover my scales in cling film then weigh out approx. 40g of sausage meat mixture. Place in palm of hand and flatten. Gently fold the sausage meat around the egg and shape so it is completely encased. Repeat until all eggs are covered you can adjust meat by a few grams if you have less eggs to use.
- Chill for 30 mins at least, then lay out three bowls. Bowl one place flour, bowl two beaten eggs, Bowl three panko breadcrumbs. Roll the chilled Scotch eggs first in flour then in egg then in breadcrumbs.
- Once finished deep fat fry on 180°C for 7 minutes until golden and crunchy.
- Delicious served warm but also lovely cold for your Afternoon Tea with some simple mayonnaise to dip.
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