Marcus Verberne’s scotch eggs with haggis and piccalilli

Scotch eggs are fun to play about with — the possibilities are endless. I’ve done them with smoked fish, braised oxtail, I’ve even wrapped them in kedgeree. I thought this version would go really well on the menu at Nova. With the addition of haggis, it’s a tribute to Dunedin’s Scottish heritage. It was a bit of a mission finding a good haggis however. The haggis I ended up going with is made, rather ironically, in Tauranga.

Always use good free-range eggs. At Nova we use local free-range eggs from Agreeable Nature in Clydevale on the Clutha River. They are delicious!

120g haggis

420g good sausage meat

6 fresh medium-sized free-range eggs

Flour to coat

2 beaten eggs

Panko breadcrumbs

Canola oil to deep fry

200g good-quality piccalilli, and

mustard cress to serve

1 Preheat your deep fryer to 190C and your oven to 180C. In a mixing bowl, mix the haggis and sausage meat thoroughly. For a soft creamy centre, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Boil the eggs for 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

2 You need to be precise with your timings. This time is based on eggs at fridge temperature, not room temperature. Remove the eggs from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and plunge them into iced water to arrest the cooking. Once the eggs are cool, peel them carefully, starting at the rounded end where the small air pocket is. 3 To wrap the eggs, it’s best to split the sausage and haggis mixture into six even balls and then roll each ball out between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper to about one centimetre in thickness. Wrap the meat around each egg, making sure they still resemble the shape of the egg.

4 Roll the eggs one at a time in the flour, then dip into the beaten egg before coating them generously with the breadcrumbs .If you don’t have a fryer, place the oil into a large, deep saucepan, leaving enough room at the top to allow for rapid boiling when the scotch eggs are added. Place the oil over a high heat but be very careful that it doesn’t get too hot. If you have a cooking thermometer, use it so you can regulate the temperature. If not, test the heat by dropping a cube of bread into the oil; it should bubble on entry and start to brown after about 15 seconds. Have to hand some kitchen paper and a slotted spoon or spider skimmer to remove the eggs from the hot oil. (Don’t try to use spring-loaded tongs — this can be very dangerous for obvious reasons.)

5 Deep-fry the scotch eggs for a couple of minutes, until golden and crispy. Remove carefully from the hot oil and place on a tray and into the oven for 3 minutes so the yolks warm through. Rest the scotch eggs on the kitchen paper to soak up any oil before seasoning lightly with sea salt. Carve the eggs in half being careful not to spill the yolk and serve on a nest of mustard cress with the piccalilli on the side. They can be served hot or cold, but I much prefer them warmed through with a runny yolk.