Bye bye Beige. The sun is out; it’s time for a picnic

Spring always gives me hope, seeing the flowers and leaves in their full glory. Spring days may be cold, but spring mornings to me are like waking up from a great night’s sleep. Summer is the icing on the cake; it’s like a party of life for me.  

If one removes vegetables from British food most of it looks beige. That’s a no no in my book. Beige is not the new black, rather a base coat to show off food in its glorious technicolour of natural pantones. Consider pasta or couscous, quite, beige in colour and flavour, but add a little chilli, some vegetables, cooked meat, edible flowers, a vinegar dressing life comes to the party and the Summer for me is a party.

Last week I celebrated (does one really ‘celebrate’ after 25?) my birthday. Rather than a few pints and a pie with mates in the pub I asked everyone to bring a rug and a bottle of something. Everyone met at my home and each was given a tray, bowl or selection of condiment to carry. That’s right, picnic in the park. An array of multicoloured tartan rungs with bright bowls of food and bottles of multi-coloured drinks.  

Sitting with friends in the park is so much better than the pub, you can really chat, have a laugh, enjoy the community.  

The previous day I had prepared lots of salads on my Rangemaster, but the hero as everyone declared was indeed a golden / beige, with a colourful filling.  Black Pudding Scotch Egg.

Mini Black Pudding Scotch Egg

Makes 16

For the Scotch Eggs

• 175g pork sausage meat
• 75g, black pudding, crumbled
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped, parsley
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
• 16 quails eggs, hard boiled and peeled
• 150g plain white flour
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 100g fresh bread crumbs
• Vegetable or sunflower oil for deep frying

For the dipping sauce

• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• Dash of Tabasco

Method

1. Mix together the sausage meat, black pudding, herbs and seasoning in a large bowl.
2. Divide the mixture into 16 and press out into flat rounds. Place a quail’s egg in the middle of the round and wrap the meat neatly around the egg, covering it completely. Do this for all of the eggs.
3. One at a time, roll the eggs in the flour, then egg then breadcrumbs.
4. Heat the oil in a pan on the Rangemaster hob to about 180C and deep fry each egg for about 5 minutes, turning regularly until crisp and golden,  drain careful and place onto some kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
5. To make the dipping sauce, combine all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix well.  

• Food
• James McIntosh
• recipe
• blog