Scottish fruit

I did not have a successful weekend angling wise. Though I cannot say I did not enjoy it. Spending time on the river though fruitless, was enjoyable. So rather than bore you with a tome about me blanking I will instead spend a short time extolling the virtues of what I consider to be one of the true wonders of cuisine. The scotch egg!

The scotch egg was claimed to be invented by the department store Fortnum and Mason in 1738 as a picnic food, though most believe their less spicy version was a revamp of the Mugul dish Nargis kofta, where a boiled egg is encased in a spicy kofta meat before deep frying. As to whom invented it,  I care not. I am just glad it was invented.

I, like my good friend Baz consider myself to be rather an aficionado on the subject of scotch eggs. Having had a job which let me travel all over the country I have tasted many localised versions from a variety of suppliers, some big some small. 

One local example the loss of which I mourn regularly was the simple freshly made version made by Garners of Spon End, Coventry. On a Friday morning you could purchase them, still hot, from a metal bowl on their counter. Now sadly Garners is gone and the proprietor reportedly refused to ever share her recipe with anyone before retiring, so this shining eggsample was lost to the passage of time.

What it is that appeals so much to me about the humble scotch egg that it is meal all in one, or even better, a breakfast all in one; a boiled egg, sausage meat and bread crumbs - all the ingredients of a sausage and egg butty in one convenient transportable package. And what inspired this is the personification of my convenient breakfast vessel theory.

Whilst perusing the stalls of Warwick market I came across the Cotswold Pie and Pudding company http://www.cotswoldfarmfayre.com/CPPHotpies.html and amongst the veritable temptations they offer I discovered the 'Black watch egg'! Named after the Scottish regiment, this edible wonder combines my all time favourite food, black pudding into the sausage meat to produce a true breakfast experience suitable for any anglers early morning sustenance.

'Get some!'