Christmas recipes: How to make Nduja Scotch Eggs

For the latest instalment of her 12 Little Dishes of Christmas, Beverley Hicks makes the perfect appetiser
Beverley Hicks
Beverley Hicks5 December 2017

“On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me six geese a laying…”

Hard boiled eggs, wrapped in a blanket of minced pork and nduja sausage, coated in spiced panko breadcrumbs and baked in the oven until crispy and golden.

If you have the time (and the patience!) make them with quails eggs for a spectacular appetiser, but make lots, the bite-sized golden nuggets will be very popular with your guests.

Ingredients (serves 2-4)

4 chicken eggs or 16 quail eggs, at room temperature

500g pork mince

80-100g nduja sausage

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

25g flour

1 large egg, beaten

50g panko breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Cress, to garnish

Method

Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil and carefully lower the eggs in with a spoon. Boil for four-and-a-half minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into cold water. Crack the eggs a little and leave in the water for a minute or so longer, this will make the shells easier to remove. Peel the eggs and pat with kitchen paper.

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

With your hands, mix together the pork mince, nduja, nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Make sure the nduja is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Fry a little of the mixture in a small frying pan and taste to check the seasoning and level of spice, adding more if necessary.

Place three wide bowls on your work surface. Put the flour into the first, the beaten egg into the second and mix the breadcrumbs, paprika and seasoning together in the third bowl.

Split the pork mixture into four and flatten one piece in the palm of your hand until. Place one peeled, boiled egg on the flattened pork mixture and carefully bring the sides up around the egg, sealing at the top. Do this with the remaining pork and eggs.

Dip one egg into the flour and roll to coat completely, then into the beaten egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs, pushing the crumbs into the mince to ensure they stick. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Place the Scotch eggs on a baking tray and cook in the preheated oven for 35 minutes (20-25 for quails eggs), or until golden, crispy and the sausage case is cooked through.

Serve simply sprinkled with a handful of snipped cress and a grinding of black pepper.

Find more of Beverley's recipes here. Follow her on Instagram @thelittlechelseakitchen for more inspiration.

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