Devilled Eggs - now I understand the attraction

I know that people have different opinions of Facebook, however, I love it.  It has enabled me to find out more about what ordinary people in other countries eat, than ever any cookbook would have done.  One of the most regular dishes that I've seen occur across the United States and Canada (ex-pats included) is the humble devilled egg.  Now it turns out that devilled eggs were being served as far back as Ancient Roman times and it seems that just about every country that has chickens, has a recipe for their own version of devilled eggs.

Now I had never experienced a devilled egg, even though I knew they had been popular in this country at one time.  I was intrigued.

Photo by Morgan Davies-Scorer

Eggs are one of my very favourite foods.  I'm well known for declaring that "you'll never be hungry with an egg in the house", such is my confidence in the little lovelies.  Son and heir is also partial to an egg, but with hubby we have to be careful as he is quite obviously on the allergic side of sensitive as regards them.  Consequently, making devilled eggs has never been top of my list.  Until this Christmas when I couldn't stand not knowing any longer and decided to make some.

Photo by Morgan Davies-Scorer

Okay, so now I understand the attraction.  Obviously, you have to like all the component parts of a hard boiled egg to appreciate them.  That's no problem for me, I used to take a hard boiled egg to school for my playtime snack (feel sorry for my classmates, some of those eggs were quite whiffy!).  There's something so moreish about the rich unctuousness of the filling.  The savoury yolk, mixing with the creamy mayonnaise, tangy vinegar, mustardy warmth, buttery richness and the final hit of enlivening chilli from the hot sauce, all encased in the coolness of the set egg white.  Oh and a quick word about the Mic's Chilli "Of Foam & Fury" hot sauce.  Because it has a degree of India Pale Ale as an ingredient, it added an interestingly hoppy angle to the end flavour.  I recommend it!  A devilled egg is so simple - and as with all things simple, so good.

I might have come late to this particular party, but I can see I shall be making up for lost time where devilled eggs are concerned.  I wonder if I've time to put a couple on to hard boil now ....


DEVILLED EGGS   (makes 8 halves)

Ingredients :

4 eggs, hard boiled and shelled
1 tsp English mustard powder
a pinch of ground black pepper
1 tsp soft salted butter
half a tsp celery salt
hot sauce, to taste (I used a quarter tsp Mic's Chilli "Of Foam & Fury" hot sauce)
1 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
half a tsp white wine vinegar
cayenne pepper and fresh parsley, to garnish.

Method :

Cut each egg in half lengthwise (trying to achieve bisecting the yolk in each case).

Gently scoop out the yolk into a bowl, leaving the white intact.

Take a super-fine slice from the underside of the egg, so that it will stand straight on a plate, then reserve.

Break the yolk down into a powder with a fork and add all the ingredients other than the cayenne and parsley.

Mix gently until all is well combined and you have a fairly smooth consistency.

Either fill a piping bag with the mixture, or spoon the mixture carefully into the empty egg whites.  Make sure you gain some height with the filling.

Sprinkle each with a tiny pinch of cayenne and garnish with a parsley leaf.

Refrigerate if the eggs are going to have to wait to be served.

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Cheese & mustard pork sausage filo rolls - perfect crunchy morsels

So what do you do when you've bought a pack of Turkish "Sac Yufka", or filo pastry, and find that you have enough pastry left over to pave the way from your kitchen to the moon and back? 

Oddly enough, I also had best part of a pack of pork sausages left over from a miscalculation and hubby immediately said "sausage rolls!" when I pondered audibly as to what to do with them both.  Seemed like a great idea. 

Now, as luck would have it, I just happened to also have a small bowl of grated mature cheddar cheese that was also a leftover and just asking to be used in something.

Sausage, cheese, crispy pastry - yes, but it definitely needed something to lift the flavours.  English mustard would be good, but our son isn't keen on English mustard.  So, French mustard did the job - and, to be honest, I think it did it rather better than the English would have done. 

So easy to make - just paint the pastry with oil or melted butter (I used a combination of groundnut oil and melted butter), spread on a tiny amount of mustard, sprinkle on some grated cheese, then lay on a skinned sausage and roll 'er up.  Cut in half and ta-daa!  Sausage rolls all ready to go in the oven (barring a quick swipe with the oily brush to encourage them to become golden).

At this stage they can be frozen, (provided the sausages haven't already been frozen).  It is best to do so unbaked or be prepared to bake them again for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the pastry, if already cooked.

Truth be told, just about anything could go with the sausages in these sausage rolls - so feel free to go wild with funky combinations!  Sausage and pickle, sausage and mushrooms, sausage & olives, sausage and chillis - I'm sure you can think of many more.  I've since made some with wholegrain mustard and again with brown pickle (like Branston) and I can't decide which is the nicer as they were all so good!

The filo gives a deliciously light and crunchy texture to the soft, tasty sausage meat that would make them perfect for a finger buffet, or high tea, picnic or just as a snack.  Don't wait until you've got leftover filo, sausages or cheese - these are too tasty to wait! 

CHEESE & MUSTARD PORK SAUSAGE FILO ROLLS   (makes 16 individual rolls)

Ingredients :

8 pork sausages, skinned
8 rectangles of filo pastry 3" x 6" (approx)
4 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
French mustard to taste
10g melted butter or groundnut oil.

Method :

Take a rectangle of pastry and brush with melted butter or oil.

Spread a small amount of French mustard across one third of the pastry.

Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the mustard.

Place a skinned sausage on top of the cheese and slightly stretch it to reach both sides, if necessary.

Begin to roll the sausage into its cheesy mustardy pastry from the sausage end, right to the end of the pastry.

Taking a very sharp knife, cut the sausage roll in half.

Place each half onto a baking sheet (I always line mine with baking parchment or greaseproof paper), making sure they are sitting upon the pastry join.

Place into a pre-heated oven at 180degC/340degF/Gas 4 for 15 minutes, then turn to achieve an even bake and replace for another 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the sausage is obviously cooked.

Serve immediately, or cool on a wire cooling rack.  

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