Recipe | Oozey Salmon Scotch Eggs

I apologise in advance for the obvious lack of 'pretty' in the photography for this recipe.  But I hope to redeem myself with the abundant amount of 'yummy' that the recipe provides (even if I do say so myself!).

Salmon Scotch Eggs.  I remember eating these as a kid.  They were a real treat that my Mum made every so often, which I do remember thinking wasn't often enough.  Over the last little while I've thought often and fondly of them, and eventually I just had to bite the bullet and make a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, grain-free version.  Because I need to eat them.

This recipe has been adapted from the recipe my Mum gave me, and I have no idea where it came from.  Maybe Grandma Brownlow?  Maybe an old Day To Day Cookery Book?  Anyway, I don't know where the recipe comes from originally, but I've changed it to accommodate my current diet preferences so I can eat them without the side of guilt.  In saying that, I still chose to use potatoes in my version, but I'm sure these would be just as nice made with sweet potato for any avid paleo followers.  I would probably let the sweet potato cool fully and you may need to add some arrowroot or another binder to the salmon and sweet potato mix as sweet potato can be a bit softer than plain old white potatoes.  My Mum also made them hard-boiled, which are great for kids, but my more grown-up self now prefers a softer centre.

I had a minor hiccup in the cooking of these little babies, solely due to my lack of patience and wanting to eat them now, already.  I didn't really think it through well enough - so I really would recommend chilling them for half an hour or so before deep frying.  Shallow frying isn't really advised - as you will notice from Exhibit A (ie. the photo above) they were a little soft and didn't really like being turned.

But they still tasted darned good!

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Oozey Salmon Scotch Eggs

Serves: 6 - 8

415g can good quality red or pink salmon
3 cups mashed, cooled potato
2 tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
juice of 1 small lemon
10 eggs
salt and pepper
1 cup arrowroot
2 cups almond meal
coconut oil, or your preferred oil, for deep frying

Place 8 eggs in a generously sized saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring to the boil, and as soon as the water starts to boil, cook for 2.5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and empty out the boiling water.  Immediately cover with cold water to stop the cooking process.  Set aside until cooled and then peel.

Mix the potato, salmon, herbs and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl until well combined.  Season well to taste.

Place the arrowroot and almond meal on separate plates and beat the two remaining eggs in a bowl.

Divide the salmon mixture to match the number of eggs you have boiled.  Taking a boiled egg, carefully mould the salmon mixture around the egg and form it into a nice round ball.  Roll it in the arrowroot, then the egg and finally the almond meal, making sure that the balls are well-covered at each step.  Place on a plate and leave in the fridge to cool and set for half an hour or so.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan and fry each scotch egg until golden brown and warmed through.  Don't overfill the saucepan, just do one or two at a time depending on the size of the saucepan you are using.  You will have to adjust the temperature of the oil to make sure you don't burn the outside before the inside is warmed.  Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve immediately with a green salad.