Last week I was lying on the couch amongst tissues, chocolate wrappers and remotes battling the annual change-of-seasons-flu. I’d resisted some serious infomercial shopping temptations, perved on Dr Stork from The Doctors and I’d touched base with Bo and Marlena from Days.
I was on the verge of turning the tv off and catching some zzzz’s when a familiar face popped onto the screen. Why it was the gorgeous Justine Schofield from the first season of MasterChef. These days Justine is hosting her own show, Everyday Gourmet.
“Everyday Gourmet is a daily cooking show aimed squarely at the home cook. From the simplest of meals to more sophisticated recipes and techniques, Everyday Gourmet will inspire viewers to get more out of their kitchens”.
Justine must have known how I was feeling because she whipped up the perfect feeling-sorry-for-myself meal and I had to cook it immediately!
Ham and Cheese Soldiers with Soft-Boiled Eggs
Justine's Ham and Cheese Soldiers
Ingredients
120g ham, finely diced
120g Gruyere or cheddar, grated
1 pinch nutmeg
40g butter
50g flour (plus extra for coating)
300ml milk
1 egg (beaten)
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
rice bran oil, for frying
6 eggs, boiled for 3 minutes.
Method
To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir well to form a roux.
Add the milk a little at a time and then bring to the boil, continually stirring until sauce thickens. Remove pan from heat and add the cheese and nutmeg. Mix well and allow to cool slightly before adding the ham.
Place a layer of cling wrap (or greaseproof paper) on a baking tray (approx. 30cmx 18cm). Spread the thick mixture into the tray (about 1.5cm thickness). Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours until the mixture is firm.
Take from the fridge and flip upside down to detach from tray onto a clean surface.
Cut the block into 6-7cm batons. Dip the batons into flour, then egg and coat all over with breadcrumbs.
Add oil to a frying pan and shallow fry for 30 seconds on each side until golden brown. NOTE: Please be careful when flipping the batons into the oil as splutters can really, really hurt!
Serve the crispy soldiers with the soft boil eggs and enjoy!
My version - I think I need to invest in a nicer egg cup
The soldiers were delicious and very gour-met!
Thanks to my trusty Tivo I can record every episode of Everyday Gourmet and continue to work my way through Justine’s fantastic recipes.
If you haven’t seen an episode yet then tune in weekdays at 3:30pm on Channel 10. Justine’s creations are bowl-licking good and really easy to follow. In the meantime, check out her recipes here.
What’s your favourite day-time tv show?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I LOVE your egg cup
Haha thanks Nic! It was the only one I could find
Yummy! This looks so delicious and comforting. I have just come down with this dreaded cold / flu and this is exactly what I feel like having. I was on the couch yesterday watching Nigella, I love watching her cook….. A xxx
I can’t wait to make those soldiers, even better if someone made them for me on a Sunday morning, bliss. My favourite daytime show is Bold and the beautiful, it’s my guilty pleasure and thank the Lord I don’t have TiVo as it would be recorded everyday. I guess I just love the way in represents real life…
Wow… I’ve never thought of using bechamel this way. Des t really hold together during the deep frying? I machine that it would kind of melt and go everywhere. Does the crumb create a kind of a skin?
Sounds delicious.
Hi Lady Lunchalot! Yep it holds together during the deep frying as long as you follow the instructions (put in the fridge, crumb and only fry for 30 seconds).
Its crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. Be really careful when turning the batons over in the fry pan, because they are soft on the inside they can break in half but they should melt too much otherwise.
Let me know how you go!
xx
HAHA I love the egg cup!!