Recipe Makeover: Scotch Eggs

Invented by the famous London department store Fortnum & Mason in 1738, Scotch eggs are hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage. This week, I took Serious Eats’ popular Scotch Egg recipe and gave it a Clean Plates makeover, replacing highly processed ingredients that are harmful to both you and the environment with better-for-you ingredients rich in delicious flavor and nutrients. As the Brits would say: they’re sure to go down a treat!

• Better eggs:  Boost flavor and nutrients with organic, free-range eggs from pasture-raised hens; hormone- and antibiotic-free eggs from cage-free hens are also a good choice. (Hens raised in crowded battery cages have a greater chance of producing eggs with salmonella, offer few nutrients and often have a bland, fishy taste.)
• Better sausage: Choose nitrate-free, organic sausage made from grass-fed animals. (If you can’t find sausage that meets these specs locally, use a Google search or the Local Harvest website to buy it online.)
• Whole grain flour:  Increase nutritional value by using organic spelt flour in lieu of all-purpose flour. Unlike other grains, even conventionally grown spelt is not commonly sprayed with pesticides or other synthetic chemicals. To make a gluten-free version of this recipe, use organic quinoa flour or brown rice flour.
• Whole grain breadcrumbs: Swap whole grain flour breadcrumbs for the processed, all-purpose white flour variety.  If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
• Herbs:  Add flavor and nutritive value with a teaspoon each of freshly chopped parsley, thyme and/or green onion.
• Baked not fried:  Preheat oven to 400°F.  Once the eggs are assembled, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the sausage is thoroughly cooked.