Solar Beef Heart Scotched Egg on Quinoa Bed -GYO #42

Solar Beef Heart Scotched Egg on Quinoa Bed

[UPDATE: This dish has been entered in Andrea Meyer's July Grow Your Own #42 cooking event because it has so many items fresh from the garden. It's being hosted by Kitchen Gadget Girls, so check them out for some neat stuff and this month's entries.]


I love dishes that give the diner a little tasty surprise; but, I still want the flavors to carry over throughout the meal so that everything harmonizes. This is what happens with my Beef Heart Scotched Egg recipe.  Beef heart is high in protein and four ounces goes a long way but doesn't 'feel' like you've had enough, so I decided to hide a boiled egg inside the loaf mixture to balance it -- just like Scottish Eggs.  The quinoa shares a lesser amount of the same herbs and spices as the beef heart mixture along with some extras that give it its own identity on the plate -- and, another surprise! -- there's a layer of garden-fresh yellow squash under the quinoa bed that adds a subtle nuttiness. This is a meal that will feed alot of people based on how many eggs used because they are encased in just under one-quarter inch of the beef heart mix.

Herbs and spices brought in from the container and lasagna gardens: Fresh basil, tarragon, chives, German thyme, Greek oregano, yellow onions, and cherry tomatoes from my neighbor.  

Remember that one squash we saw? Decided to use it for a bottom layer. I love the way vegetables can be used to line a pan. Removal is so easy. Decide how many eggs you're going to need and boil them so that whites are cooked and yellow is firm but a little runny (just a little over medium, or 8 mins.). I cover the eggs with water, bring to boil, then set aside off the heat for about 8 mins. Immediately plunge in cold water;

remove the shells, right away, so that they will come off without tearing up the egg.  This is all from one little summer squash!

To the above finely-chopped fresh herbs, add salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground fennel, 1/8 tsp. mace, 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1/4 cup finely chopped celery, 1/3 cup green pepper, 1/4 cup banana pepper, 2 T. cranberry sauce, 1 T. sunflower seeds. Reserve 2 T. for quinoa.

In two cups of water, add 1 cup quinoa plus the 2 Tablespoons of reserved herb mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and let sit while preparing beef heart mixture. Quinoa will have absorbed most of the water in about 10 minutes.

Grind beef heart in food processor or run through meat grinder, add 1 T. olive oil and balance of herb mixture; blend thoroughly. Mixture should hold its shape. Slice just enough off rounded part of egg to make it stand without falling over.  I used a mini-pie pan to work in and decided I didn't want the mixture soaking up the liquid from the quinoa, so I made four tin foil squares to support the protein. A spatula will help you press the mixture against the sides of the egg in an even layer. Shouldn't be more than 1/2 inch thick and you don't need to cover the bottoms.

Spread the quinoa over the sliced squash and place the jacketed eggs on top.

Remove the stem end of cherry tomatoes and cut in quarters or halves; place over top of scotched eggs and quinoa.

Place in oven bag, onto SolarWear(tm) for easy transport, then in 300F solar oven for approximately 1-1/2 hours.  Conventional oven = 7500 BTUs;  solar energy = FREE!

Serve and enjoy. Beef heart gets a little darker when cooked than standard ground beef would, but it's still delicious!

Grow Your Own Roundup #42 Cooking Event
Don't forget to see all the recipes entered in Andrea Meyer's July Roundup. I just barely made it, because the closing date is July 30th. Again, it's being hosted by Kitchen Gadget Girls.