Hi Sara

Happy you liked the latest recipe, but your point is well taken about needing 10 people for Blueberry Baked French Toast. As you have lots of eggs at the moment, how about this great Custard Tart Recipe from chef, James Martin, a proud Yorkshire man who never fails to mention that at every possible opportunity although he has lived down south for many years. His deli in Winchester is on Countryside Connection and they have been members with us from the very beginning. When we lived in a small hamlet nearby we were often in Winchester, especially when showing visitors around and a stop at his deli was always a treat. I have used lots of his recipes over the years and always find them to be quite simple and always a success.

Now, all you need is someone to send in a recipe that will use the remaining 12 egg whites! Perhaps some easy meringues which are always easy to fall back on when left with lots of egg whites? I look forward to seeing what your readers come up with.

Enjoy!

Custard Tart By: James Martin From: James Martin: Sweet

Ingredients

• 250g ready-made sweet shortcrust pastry, (pâte sucrée)
• 750ml whipping cream
• 12 egg yolks
• 115g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.

2. Roll out the pastry and line a 30cm loose-bottomed flan tin, leaving any excess pastry to hang over the edge (do not trim until after the pastry has been cooked).

3. Line with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then remove from the oven.

4. Remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C/gas 2.

5. Heat the cream in a saucepan without letting it boil.

6. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and caster sugar for 3-4 minutes until pale and thick.

7. Gradually whisk the hot cream into the mixture, being careful not to let the egg yolks curdle.

8. Pour the mixture into the cooked pastry case. Sprinkle with the allspice.

9. Bake for 50 minutes or until the custard is set.

10. Remove from the oven, trim the edges carefully and allow to cool. Serve at room temperature.

So if you have any recipes using lots of eggs, egg yolks or egg whites then please send them in.

Click on the image below to visit Amazon.co.uk to find out more about this book or visit one of the Farming Friends Bookshops.

I have free range guinea fowl who tend to lay their eggs from the end of March/ beginning of April til September.

I have quail and the japanese quail that live in an aviary tend to lay from February til September but I also have a large barn with quail in and they lay all year round. So I have quail eggs available for eating all year round.

I also have free range khaki campbell ducks and they have been laying since early Winter and as it is the first year I have kept the ducks it will be interesting to see if they stop laying.

Asparagus & Soft Boiled Guinea Fowl Eggs

Ingredients

• Bunch of asparagus tips. (5/6 per person)
• Bread for toasting. (2 per person)
• Bacon rashers. (2 per person)
• Large tomatoes. (2 per person)
• Guinea fowl eggs. (4 per person)
• Virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for seasoning.

Method

1. Grill bacon until cooked and crispy or to your liking.
2. Grill tomatoes.
3. Boil apsaragus until cooked.
4. Boil water for guinea fowl egg and then when boiling add guinea fowl eggs which take 3 to 3 and a half minutes to soft boil.
5. Let guinea fowl eggs cool and then peel carefully.
6. Toast bread.
7. Butter the toast and squash tomatoes onto the toast.
8. Layer on the grilled bacon rashers.
9. Add the asparagus tips.
10. Add the guinea fowl eggs to the top of the dish and then cut in half so that the yolk runs onto the dish.
11. Sprinkle the dish with a little virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to season.
12. Enjoy!

Do you have any good recipes for using guinea fowl eggs, if so I’d love to hear them and with your permission feature them here on the Hugo house Recipe Page.

I bought this book at the weekend and we have already tried one of the recipes, duchess eggs which I’d never heard of but it’s worth trying.

Click on the image below to visit Amazon.co.uk to find out more about this book or visit one of the Farming Friends Bookshops.

• They are nutritious.
• Easily digested.
• Egg dishes are quick to prepare.
• Eggs have many different uses.
• They can be prepared in many different ways.

Cooking And Eating Eggs

Eggs can be cooked in a variety of ways.

1. Boiled
2. Fried
3. Poached
4. Scrambled
5. Steamed
6. Omelette

Boiled Eggs – Eggs can be soft or hard boiled.

Soft Boiled Eggs can be cooked in a number of ways.

You can plunge the eggs (still in their shells) into a pan of fast boiling water and cook according to taste and size of eggs: 3 minutes = very soft, 3.5 minutes = soft, 4 minutes = medium hard or 4.5 minutes = firm for hen eggs. When cooked, put into egg cups and cut the top off the eggs.

A second way to cook soft boiled eggs is to cover the eggs (still in their shells) with cold water and bring slowly to the boil. The moment the water boils remove from the heat. Put into egg cups and cut the top off the eggs.

Hard Boiled Eggs – Put the eggs (still in their shells) into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes for hen eggs. Try not to over cook for more than 10 minutes as the eggs may be discoloured. Put the eggs immediately into cold water to cool as this prevents a dark colouration around the yolk. When cool, crack the egg shell and peel it from the eggs.

Fried Eggs – Heat some fat (sunflower oil is high in unsaturated fat) in a small frying pan. Crack the eggs into separate cups and then slide the eggs into the pan and draw off the heat for a minute. Then replace over a low heat and fry until the eggs are set. Shake the pan slightly to prevent sticking. A plate over the pan can sometimes help the top to set. Remove from the pan and drain any excess fat before serving.

Poached Eggs – Break the eggs carefully into cups, unless using a special poaching pan. Put a teaspoon of vinegar and a pinch of salt into a pan half full of water. Slide in the eggs, keeping the white together with a spoon. Simmer gently spooning water over the eggs, until they are set and the whites are opaque. Remove from the pan and drain well before serving.

Scrambled Eggs – Use half an ounce of margarine or butter and 1 tablespoon of milk per egg. Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the milk. Beat the eggs and milk together and season with a little salt and pepper. Melt the margarine/butter in a saucepan and add the beaten egg mixture. Stir with a fork until the mixture is nearly set. Remove from the heat and serve.

Steamed Eggs – Grease an oven-proof dish and break the eggs into it. Stir the yolk and white together, add a pinch of salt and then put the dish into a saucepan with enough boiling water to come half way up. Steam the eggs until they are set and then serve.

Omelette – Crack the eggs into a bowl and add a little milk and seasoning. Beat the mixture together. Heat some oil in a frying pan and then add the egg mixure so that it spreads out and covers the whole of the bottom of the pan. Cook until the egg mixture has set. The omelette can be turned or flipped over so that both sides are evenly cooked but this is not always necessary.

Using Eggs In Cooking And Baking

Eggs have many benefits when they are used with other ingredients in cooking and baking.

1. Whisking
2. Setting
3. Binding
4. Coating
5. Emulsion
6. Glazing
7. Enriching other foods

Whisking – Eggs hold alot of air and are used to make meringues, souffles, mousses and swiss rolls. The ingredients are whisked together and the air held in the mixture by the eggs makes the meringues and cake very light.

Setting – Eggs enable a liquid mixture to set for example in a quiche, a baked egg custard and lemon curd.

Binding – When you add an egg yolk to a fish cake or beefburger mix, it helps the ingredients to stick together.

Coating – Beaten egg can be used to coat fish, chicken portions and other food before they are coated in breadcrumbs and fried.

Emulsion – When an egg or egg yolk is used to make mayonnaise, it helps the oil and vinegar to stay blended together.

Glazing – Pastry topped pies and scones are brushed with beaten egg and milk to give a shiny golden brown appearance when cooked.

Enriching other foods – Adding beaten egg to mashed potato, fried rice or milk pudding can help to improve the flavour and food value of the dish.

The free range guinea fowl that live at Hugo House enjoy ranging around the farm during the day. They eat a diet of the finest grains and daily access to the farm’s grassy pastures produces eggs with a deep yellow yolk. These eggs have a thicker shell than ordinary eggs which protects the rich and flavoursome yolk. The Hugo House guinea fowl eggs are great boiled, fried, scrambled or poached and are ideal for use in baking.