Scotch Eggs – True Comfort Food

By Lori Powell

Since I moved this past weekend I am looking for some true comfort food.  A friend once made me Scotch eggs on a dreadful rainy day – the kind where the cold goes straight through your bones.  Scotch eggs were the perfect remedy.

They were crispy on the outside with delicious, tender sausage cradling the hard-boiled egg. Truly a perfect protein package.

He had deep-fried them, which is never a bad thing if you know how to keep the temperature of your oil constant. I shallow fry them, which uses less oil but still delivers a crispy crumb crust.

Serve these eggs with a simple salad dressed with mustard seed vinaigrette and/or pickled beets or cornichons. Sheer happiness!

Scotch Eggs
Serves 1 or 2
To save time, just buy an already hard-boiled egg at the salad bar of the supermarket.

2 hard-boiled eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ pound bulk herbed sausage
1 uncooked large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pat hard-boiled eggs dry and dredge in flour, shaking excess off. Pat the sausage onto the cooked eggs evenly and then dredge again in the flour. Dip and roll into the beaten egg, letting excess drip off, and then roll in the breadcrumbs, patting crumbs to adhere.

Heat the oil over moderate heat in a heavy small skillet and shallow fry the eggs, turning them until crumbs are golden brown and sausage is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Transfer eggs with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Season with salt and pepper.