I loved David the Gnome when I was a kid; fantastic creatures in general interested me, but gnomes in particular seemed so sweet and cozy. Affectionate, nice to animals, and with the cutest little houses; I was obsessed with their pretty Nordic carvings and their little beds built straight into the wall.
I had all but forgotten the show (based on a book I am now interested to read) until Diana from Fiction-Food Café and Catherine from The Gluttonous Geek started talking about it on Twitter, inspiring a watch-and-cook from all of us!
Rewatching the show was like snuggling up in a warm blanket of nostalgia. It is exposition heavy in the most charming way: each episode starts with a snippet about the lives of gnomes – the clothes they wear, their houses, and of course the food they eat. Gnomes are very kind, and very environmentally conscious, so all their food is plant-based or else gifted by their animal friends.
I think we all chose to use mushrooms, which seemed natural as they are forageable in the forest and form magical fairy rings. Mine I used to make scotch eggs – vegetarian of course! In the very first episode the gnomes eat skylark eggs (having no skylark eggs available I used completely mundane chicken eggs) and David, a doctor, helps an ailing goat, so I thought it might be reasonable he was repaid in goat cheese. I also have it on good authority that gnomes are partial to root vegetables, so potato seemed like a good ingredient to tie it all together.
Mushroom Potato Scotch Eggs
- 8 hardboiled eggs, peeled
- 1 large russet potato, peeled and medium diced
- 6 ounces goat cheese
- olive oil & butter
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 11-12 ounces mushrooms (I used 8 ounces cremini and 3.2 ounces fresh shitake), finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence (or a mix of herbs such as thyme, basil, or parsley)
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- breadcrumbs (optional, I did some with, some without. I seasoned the breadcrumbs with a little salt and fresh thyme)
- oil to fry
Put potato in a small saucepan, just cover with water and a good pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Boil until the potato is very soft, then drain and mix with goat cheese and a tablespoon of butter.
On medium-high heat, warm a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon (or two) butter. Cook shallot and garlic until shallot just starts to turn golden, then add the mushrooms and herbs. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms have released their water and the mixture is mostly dry. Stir into the potato mixture, season to taste, and allow to cool to room temperature.
On medium to medium high, heat 3/4 inch of oil in a frying pan. Take a palm-sized portions of the potato mixture and form it around each of the eggs (it should be malleable and spread easily). In batches of two, roll each egg in the flour, dusting off any excess, then dip in the egg and coat with breadcrumbs if using. Fry, rolling gently, until they are golden all over, and remove to a paper towel-lined plate. (Any leftover potato mixture you can just form into little disks and fry on each side until golden).
Serve on a bed of greens or asparagus.
For more David the Gnome recipes, visit:
- The Gluttonous Geek for Cheese Pie with Dandelion Greens and Wild Mushrooms
- Fiction-Food Café Mushroom Soup, Nut and Seed Bread, and Berry and Nut Salad
And if you’re inspired to revisit your childhood, the entire series is on YouTube.
