Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

I love being able to access the viewing statistics for my blog, seeing which ransom search terms have led people to my sight and discovering that I suddenly have a regular following from Malaysia. It is also interesting to see which of my posts are most popular. The forerunner on popularity is my porkless ‘pork’ pie recipe which has had more than triple the amount of vies of any other post on my blog. I am pretty chuffed with this as it was a recipe I put a lot of time and effort into developing. And so I thought it was time to make another vegetarian version of a meaty British snack food….and so I bring you the vegetarian Scotch egg!

INGREDIENTS

75g red split lentils

100g polenta (plus a little extra for coating the scotch eggs)

50g oat bran

1 large carrot (peeled and grated)

50g shallots (finely diced)

1 heaped teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon ground mace

4 eggs

Corn/Vegetable Oil for frying

Makes 4

Begin by placing the lentils in a saucepan, cover with cold water and place over a medium heat. Bring the lentils to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes until tender. Once cooked drain the lentils and place to one side to cool slightly.

In another pan cook the eggs in boiling water for approx. 6 minutes until just hard boiled. Drain the eggs and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle peel the eggs and again place to one side until the rest of the mixture is ready.

Place the polenta in a pan, cover with 400ml boiling water and place over a medium heat continually stirring until the polenta thickens and a smooth mash potato like consistency is achieved.

Finally sauté the shallots in a little oil until soft and translucent. Add the grated carrot and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the polenta into a large missing bowl and combine with the lentils, oat bran, shallots, carrots, mustard, thyme, mace and paprika. Use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients together.

To construct the scotch eggs take a handful of the mixture (about 1/8^th of the mixture) and form into a burger shaped disc. Placed one of the shelled eggs into the centre of the disc and slowly wrap the mixture around the egg. Take another 1/8^th of the mixture, form into another disc and place over the top of the half covered egg gently moulding the two discs of mixture together so that the egg is completely covered. Repeat this process with the remaining three eggs.

Place a little extra polenta onto a small plate and roll each egg in the mixture until coated in the polenta.

Take a deep saucepan and pour in the oil until it is about 5cm deep. Place the pan over a medium heat and heat up to 180-190°C. Once the oil has reached the desired temperature transfer one scotch egg at a time into the pan using a slotted spoon (be careful as the oil is really hot and may splash and spit as you place the egg into the pan). Fry the eggs for approx. 8 minutes, turning frequently until golden brown.

Carefully remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain on a plate covered with paper kitchen towel to help absorb any excess oil.

The eggs are now ready to eat!