EggsatEaster

LET’S CELEBRATE EASTER WITH A SELECTION OF EASY-TO-MAKE EGG RECIPES FOR YOU AND YOUR GUESTS TO ENJOY!

EggSaladFilling

This is great way to use up leftover boiled eggs as this recipe can easily be scaled up or down. You can get as adventurous as you want with this simple recipe - try some of these tasty variations!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

8 eggs

8 tbsp mayonnaise

1 salad onion, finely chopped

1 tsp Dijon or wholegrain mustard

¼ tsp paprika salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from *hot water, cool, peel, and chop.

2. Place chopped eggs in a bowl; stir in the mayonnaise, onion, and mustard. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir and serve on your favourite bread, with toast or crackers.

Variations…

Add any of the following for added flavour and texture:-

Grated cheese

Finely diced celery

Finely chopped gherkins

Capers

Chopped fresh herbs

Flaked tinned tuna.

*When cooking hard boiled eggs, keep the water. Once cooled, use this calcium-rich solution to plants, they will love it.

ByBelindaPrince

Belinda, the ‘Accidental Chatelaine’ loves to cook at any opportunity and is delighted to be able to share that love with you www.chateaumareuil.com

EggsMimosa

This tasty starter or buffet dish is the French equivalent of devilled eggs, only much prettier! The dish takes its name from the mimosa tree which flowers abundantly across the South of France in late winter and early spring - the topping of the egg yolk fragments resembles the fluffy mimosa flowers.

The recipe below will serve two to three people as a starter, or up to six people as part of a buffet.

Ingredients (Serves, see above)

4 eggs

3 tsp mayonnaise

1tsp Dijon mustard

1-2 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Lettuce leaves of your choice

Method

1. Place the eggs in a pan and fill with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook the eggs for 10 minutes from the moment the water boils and remove from heat. Place the eggs in cold water for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to peel them.

2. Peel the eggs and cut them in half lengthwise. Gently remove the hardened yolks, setting one aside (two halves) for the mimosa topping. Transfer the other yolks to a small bowl. Set six white halves on a plate –don't waste the other two, maybe pop them in a sandwich filling (see Egg Salad for Sandwiches recipe).

3. Begin by making the mimosa topping. Press the reserved yolk through a sieve over a plate, using the back of a spoon. This takes some patience! Take your time and be sure to scrape all the delicate bits of yolk off the back of the sieve.

4. For the the filling. Add the mayonnaise and mustard to the yolks in the bowl and mash with a fork until very smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. When you are satisfied with the flavour, add the chopped herbs. Stir well.

5. You are now ready to assemble the eggs “Mimosa”. Fill the whites with the yolk mixture, piling it up prettily. Sprinkle the eggs with the ‘mimosa’ bits. Prepare a little nest of salad leaves in the centre of a serving plate. Set the mimosa eggs on top. Or sprinkle the eggs with micro-greens.

Egg&VeggieMuffins

Great for breakfast, lunch or anytime!

Ingredients (Serves 4, makes 8 muffins)

1 tbsp oil

150g broccoli, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

2 spring onions (or 1 large salad onion), finely sliced

2 large eggs

1 tbsp milk

Large pinch of smoked paprika

50g hard cheese of your choice, e.g. Emmental. Gruyère, Comté

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas

4. Brush half the oil in an 8-hole muffin tin. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and add the broccoli, pepper and spring onions. Fry for 5 mins then set aside to cool.

2. Whisk the eggs with the milk, smoked paprika and half the cheese in a bowl, then add the cooked veg. Pour the egg mixture into the muffin holes and top each with the remaining cheese and a few chives or some chopped parsley, if liked. Bake for 15-17 mins or until golden brown and cooked through.

Egg&BaconPie

Delicious served warm or cold. Enjoy with new potatoes and salad, or just on its own!

Ingredients (Serves 6)

2 x 230g packs ready rolled puff pastry circles (pâte feuilletée)

300g smoked bacon lardons

8 eggs (reserve 1 yolk for glazing pastry)

4 tsp milk or cream

1 small onion, finely chopped

Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Remove the pastry from the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan to start cooking to make it less brittle to work with.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan

3. Lightly fry the lardons without using any extra fat until the fat is rendered and they’re beginning to turn brown, remove from the pan and pat dry on kitchen paper. Set aside to cool.

4. Lightly fry the chopped onion in the bacon fat.

5. Whisk the eggs, reserving 1 yolk for glazing the pastry lid. Whisk in the milk or cream.

6. Carefully line a 25 cm (approx.) flan or pie dish with one sheet of the pastry making sure it comes just over the sides. Prick the base all over with a fork, then sprinkle over the chopped fried onion.

7. Mix the parsley and bacon into the egg mixture, then carefully pour into the pie dish.

8. Cover with the other sheet of pastry, crimp firmly together and trim off any excess pastry. You could use this to decorate the top! Snip the pastry top with scissors a couple of times to create air holes. Brush carefully with the spare egg yolk, lightly beaten.

9. Place in the oven on a baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes. Check to see if the pie is browning too quickly, if so, cover with some foil and continue to cook for a further 5 – 10 minutes until cooked through.

WelshAngleseyEggs

This classic Welsh recipe has a French cousin, oeufs à la bretonne !

Ingredients (Serves 6-8, easily be halved)

8 hard-boiled eggs (shelled and quartered)

1 large leek, or 2 small leeks (trimmed, finely sliced, and rinsed thoroughly)

50g butter (cut into 2 x 25g pieces)

1kg mashing potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

2tbsp milk salt and pepper to taste

150g hard cheese of your choice, eg Comté (Caerphilly is authentic), grated

Sauce

25g butter

50g plain flour

600 ml milk

Salt and black pepper to taste

Optional – 50g breadcrumbs for topping

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Grease a baking dish or tin with a little butter. Fry the leeks in 25g of butter over a medium heat until they are soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Whilst the leeks are cooking, boil the potatoes in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft but still hold their shape; drain them and add the remaining 25g of butter and milk. Mash them with a masher or with a handheld whisk until smooth, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Add the cooked leeks to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Spoon the mashed potato mixture into the prepared baking dish or tin and arrange the quartered hard-boiled eggs on top of the mashed potatoes.

4. Using the same pan that the leeks were cooked in, add the milk, flour, and butter, and beat together over a medium heat with a wire whisk continuously until the sauce thickens and is smooth. Allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes. Add half of the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for a further minute, stirring well. Pour the sauce over the mashed potatoes and eggs.

5. Mix the remaining cheese with the breadcrumbs, sprinkle over the mashed potatoes, eggs, and cheese sauce. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the dish is bubbling and golden brown.

Château Mareuil

LittleCustardTarts

These delicious tarts are so tasty! You can use ready-made sweet pastry instead of making your own. This recipe only uses the egg yolks, so why not whip up a batch of meringues with the left-over egg whites?

Ingredients (Makes 12)

For the pastry

180g plain flour

120g butter

25g icing sugar, sieved

1 egg yolk

For the filling

400ml full-fat milk

4 egg yolks

50g caster sugar grated nutmeg

Method

1. First, make the pastry. Put the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter with

Luxury Holidays with Private Pool - Chambres d’HôtesParties, Celebrations & Weddings - Wine Tasting & Private Dining your fingertips, then stir in the icing sugar. Add the egg yolk and 2 tsp water and mix to a stiff dough. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a 9cm or 11cm cutter, depending on the depth of the tin, cut out 12 rounds. Line the tin with the pastry circles, then put in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. Alternatively, you could use readymade sweet pastry (Pate sucrée)

2. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas

6. Begin by warming the milk in a small pan. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. Pour the warm milk onto the egg mixture, stirring well. Decant to a jug, then carefully pour the custard into the pastry cases, filling to the top. Sprinkle each tart with a little grated nutmeg.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 and bake for a further 10 -15 minutes until the custard is lightly set. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing.

CHÂTEAU GALLERY & BROCANTE

CHÂTEAU GALLERY & BROCANTE

Open for private viewings Call 05 49 48 02 93

Open for private viewings Call 05 49 48 02 93

Château Mareuil, Mareuil, 86290 Brigueil-le-Chantre

Belinda and Lee Prince 05 49 48 02 93 www.chateaumareuil.com

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