Recipes

Blackberry Scotch Eggs

Makes 4 

Prep time 20 minutes 

Cook time 10-12 minutes

 

Ingredients

5 medium free-range eggs, 1 beaten

400g good quality sausage meat or skinned sausages

150g blackberries

40g dried breadcrumbs

6 sage leaves, finely chopped

 

To coat:

30g flour

60g dried breadcrumbs

Oil for deep frying

 

For the coulis:

150g blackberries

30ml balsamic vinegar

1tsp brown sugar

 

Method

1. To make the coulis; place the ingredients in a small pan and simmer for 5 minutes until the fruit has softened. Remove from the heat and push the sauce through a sieve discarding the pips. Set aside to cool.

2. Bring a pan of water to the boil, carefully add 4 of the eggs and simmer for 6 minutes.  Remove from the pan and immediately place in iced water to stop the cooking. Gently crack the shells and leave to cool in the water. Once cool, peel away the shells.

3. Combine the sausage meat with the blackberries allowing some to get crushed in the mix and stir in the 40g breadcrumbs, sage and some salt and pepper. Divide the mix into 4. With wet hands shape a quarter of the mix into a round and flatten it. Add an egg and press the meat around until it is fully encased. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

4. Heat the oil in a deep pan or fryer to 160C. Place the beaten egg, flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates. Dip each egg first into the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs.  Carefully add the eggs to the hot oil - you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your fryer - and cook for 6-8 minutes turning a couple of times, until the coating is golden. Remove and drain on kitchen paper before serving with the coulis.

Top tip: You can prepare these up to coating in breadcrumbs and chill in the fridge for 24 hours.