SCOTCH PICKLED EGGS

In bars in Scotland we saw drinkers take a pickled egg, mash it into a bag of cheese and onion crisps, then wash it down with a pint. Crazy as it sounds, we’ve incorporated this into a culinary classic that’s epic with beer or on a picnic.

Makes 6

600g (1lb 5oz) Cumberland sausages (or any other sausages) 2tbsp celery salt (from supermarkets) 50g (1¾oz) plain flour Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 100g (3½oz) panko breadcrumbs (from supermarkets) 1 packet of cheese and onion crisps, crushed 2 eggs 6 pickled eggs (in a jar, from supermarkets, or see Bikers’ Tip along the bottom of the page) Oil, for frying Mustard, cornichons and pickled onions, to serve Remove the sausage meat from the skins and put it all in a bowl. Spread the celery salt on a plate. Spread the flour on a separate plate and season it with salt and pepper. Mix the panko breadcrumbs with the crushed crisps and put them on another plate, then beat the 2 eggs in a shallow bowl.

Take a pickled egg and roll it in celery salt, then the seasoned flour – the flour helps the sausage meat stick. Make a patty of sausage meat big enough to encase your egg, then wrap it around the egg and form it into a lovely round shape. It helps to have wet hands. Repeat with the other pickled eggs. Now dip each one into the seasoned flour again, then the beaten egg and finally roll them in the crisp and breadcrumb mixture.

If you want to deep-fry the eggs, half fill a pan or deep fryer with oil and heat the oil to 160°C. Add the eggs, a few at a time, and cook for around 6 minutes until they are golden in colour. Alternatively, you can use a frying pan to shallow fry the eggs in oil, turning them occasionally until the sausage meat is cooked through and the outsides are golden. Serve up with some good mustard and a few cornichons and pickled onions.