Category: 500 Recipes for Quick Meals

Cheddar Scotch Eggs

Hey friends! Today, I’m diving into a classic recipe: Cheddar Scotch Eggs. This little gem hails from 500 Recipes for Quick and Easy Meals by Marguerite Patten (1972).

I’ve got a confession: Scotch Eggs are one of those foods I adore eating but dread making. Remember the Pakistani version, the Nargisi Kofta,  I made back in 2019? It was a culinary delight, but let’s face it, Scotch Eggs are a lot of work!  Who wants to deal with the mess of a deep fryer just for one meal? It’s like running a marathon for a single slice of pizza! 

Scotch eggs are however, quite lovely eaten cold, which makes making a big batch worthwhile as you can enjoy meals for a few days!  They are also amazing picnic food so if you are contemplating an al fresco meal in the near future, these could be your go-to dish! 

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Ahem, I hear you say.  That looks exactly like a regular Scotch Egg. Where’s the extra cheese you promised? Scotch Eggs are already laborious enough to make, but this version takes things to a new level. You cut the eggs in half, remove the yolks, and mix them with cheese. Then, you reassemble the eggs and proceed with the normal Scotch Egg process..   You can see the split in the eggs where they where cut through in the close up photo below. 

What Are Scotch Eggs?

But maybe I should pause here in case some of my readers are unfamiliar with the concept of a Scotch Egg.

First thing.  They are not from Scotland.  They were invented by Fortnum and Mason the very posh department store in Picadilly in London in 1738.  The term scotch comes from adding anchovies to the meat to cut through the fattiness of the meat and to give it a stronger flavour.  

Second, they are an egg, wrapped in a meat casing and then crumbed and fried. 

Cheddar Scotch Egg

Cheddar Scotch Eggs – The Recipe

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Have a great week!

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Grapefruit Oat Brulee

Hello friends and welcome to a recipe which is top ten, maybe even top five of everything I have cooked this year! Grapefruit Oat Brulee is delicious, quick, has only four ingredients and is (mostly) a healthy snack/dessert/breakfast. You might even find yourself eating it for all of the above, it’s that good! The recipe comes from 500 Recipes for Quick Meals by Marguerite Patten (1972).

Grapefruit Oat Brulee

I mean really…how good does that look? These photos make me want to run out and buy a bag of grapefruit immediately just so I can recreate this dish over and over again. I made these a while ago, and even now, looking at the pictures is making my mouth water.

My only word of advice, apart from urging you to purchase your own bag of grapefruit without delay, is that this dish can be quite messy to eat. Consequently, I discovered that segmenting the grapefruit before broiling is the most efficient method. I want to give credit where credit is due: I’m actually grateful to Marguerite for omitting this step from the recipe. It unintentionally empowered me to experiment with several grapefruits to develop a user-friendly process for you, dear readers!

How To Segment A Grapefruit for Bruléeing

  • First, cut the grapefruit in half.
  • Then, to stabilize the grapefruit, cut a small slice from its bottom.
  • Next, use a sharp knife to carefully separate the pith from the grapefruit flesh, loosening the segments. Then, using the same knife, meticulously slice along each segment of the grapefruit.
  • This methodical approach will make eating your grapefruit a lot easier!

Grapefruit Oat Brulée – The Recipe

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Grapefruit Oat Brulee

A delightful recipe for breakfast or dessert – take your pick!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 grapefruits
  • 30g butter
  • 2 tbsp rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup

Instructions

  • Halve the grapefruit, and prep as outlined above.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan
  • Add the oats and golden syrup. 
  • Mix thoroughly.
  • Sprinkle oat mixture over the grapefruit.
  • Place under a medium hot grill (broiler) until lightly browned and crisp on top

Notes

Adapted from a Margeurite Patten recipe found in 500 Recipes for Quick Meals (972)

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For a a less oaty version of this, you can check my recipe for Bruléed Grapefruit here.

Next week in the July 20 years ago Today post, there will be one…actually….maybe even two recipes that are also in my Top Ten things I’ve cooked this year!  July has been a good month for recipes! Speak you then! 

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Swiss Eggs

Hello, retro food lovers! This week we have a straightforward but delicious supper dish to delight your tastebuds! Now, I use the term “supper” quite deliberately here. For me, dinner is a much more formal affair – a multi-course spread, often quite heavy. Supper, on the other hand, is all about keeping things quick and light. And that’s exactly where Swiss Eggs come in! While they’d also be perfect for lunch or brunch, these beauties fall squarely into the supper category.

The recipe itself hails from a little gem called “500 Recipes for Quick Meals” by Marguerite Patten, published back in 1972. Get ready for a tasty trip down memory lane!

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How good does it look with that combination of both melted and crispy cheese!  This is not one for the lactose intolerant!  And as the name of the book suggests this is also a quick recipe, it also only has four ingredients! Quick, easy delicious = a suppertime win!  It would also be a great brunch or work from home lunch!  So, as you might have guessed the Swiss in the title doesn’t refer to this dishes provenance but to the use of Swiss cheese which is first used to line the bottom of the baking dish.

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You then add your eggs.

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Cover with cream:

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And more cheese. And that’s it. Job done. Pop that into the oven for around 12 minutes and enjoy!

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Serving Suggestions for Swiss Eggs

While your eggs are baking, why not whip up a simple green salad and some toast? Or, if you’re feeling a touch more indulgent (like me!), pop some garlic bread in alongside the eggs to bake together. The combination of creamy Swiss Eggs, a refreshing salad, and warm, garlicky bread creates a light yet undeniably delicious meal.

Speaking of delicious, a glass of chilled white wine wouldn’t go amiss here, would it? The entire dish evokes a certain European charm, and a glass of wine would only enhance that ambiance. So go ahead, channel your inner Elizabeth David on this one. Of course, if you’re enjoying this as a breakfast treat, it might be wise to stick with Marguerite’s original suggestion of some good old-fashioned (and perhaps very 1972) fried bread! It might not be quite as continental, but it’s certainly a nostalgic and satisfying way to start your day.  Then again, who am I to judge?  If you want wine with your brekkie, go for it!

Swiss Eggs – Recipe

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I thought the Swiss Eggs were holey delightful!  (Geddit?  Swiss Cheese has…nevermind) And not at all eggtravagant!  I”m sure you’ll all be scrambling to make these!

Enough with the puns!  Have a great week!

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