Over Egged - Pickled Eggs

“Coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrollscressandwidgespottedmeatgingerbeerlemonadesodawater...” Rattie's uber-picnic from Kenneth Graham's Wind in the Willows has always stood for me as the picnic by which all other hampers are judged. But not an egg in sight! As mole might say, one small omission, dear Rattie. Couldn't the whiskery oarsman have stretched to a pickled egg?

Pickles; the coyest of foods, Spinsters of the store cupboard, hugging the back corner, frumpily dressed in dusty jars. Little suggests what will follow the seditious hiss as a bottle's seal finally gives under the pressure of glutinous fingers; the tang of acerbic onions, last year's windfalls transformed into syrupy chutney, alchemy within a jar.

As the first apples tumble turfward we ferret out the Big Pan and fill the street with heady clouds of hot vinegar, crushed cardomen pods, sugar and cinnamon. Anything left from the Summer's crop hits the pot. This year our chutneys & pickles have added pep, as we've cracked the art of chilli growing.  After several years of mouldering thanklessly in a pot on the patio we moved our chilli plants indoors into the warmest room in the house, the bathroom.  A window seat is now festooned with  cayenne and birds eye chillies, quietly bruising red amid clouds of steam and shaving foam.

Sceptical at first about the virtues of pickled eggs I am now a passionate convert.  Uncouth fiery orbs of peppery heat these are the morsels Weasel & Co. would have bought to the riverside banquet, destine to curl the hair on Rattie’s chest and make Mole whimper with delight.  Resist the urge to nibble for a couple of weeks and let the eggs steep in the pickling liquor.  Kept in the fridge they should last for up to a year.

Wicked Weasel's Pickled Eggs    

Ingredients

6 - 8 eggs
700 ml (1 1/4 pint) white wine vinegar
4 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
12 peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground allspice
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 whole chillies

Method
Simmer the eggs for 3 minutes in boiling water, then drain and transfer the eggs straight to a bowl of cold water.

Once cool peel the eggs and place carefully in a large, sterile pickling jar.

Bring all the other ingredients to the boil in a large pan, simmer for five minutes and then turn the heat off and leave the liquor to stew for at least 2 hours.

Put the mixture back on the heat.  Once boiling again carefully ladle over the eggs, ensuring all the eggs are covered, before wiping and sealing the jar.

Allow to cool and keep in the fridge.