Martha Collison's smoky Scotch eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Start by soft boiling the eggs. Place 6 of the eggs into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Plunge the eggs into a bowl of iced water and leave for 10 minutes.

2. Remove the shell from the eggs very carefully (you don’t want to break the yolk) and set to one side.

3. Place the sausagemeat, bacon, paprika, chipotle paste and oregano into a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture is combined and no large pieces of bacon remain. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Take 3 shallow bowls and place the flour, breadcrumbs and remaining eggs, beaten, into each one. Lay out a large sheet of clingfilm on a work surface and lightly flour it.

5. Take one sixth of the sausagemeat mixture and place it into the centre of the clingfilm. Cover with a second layer of clingfilm and roll the meat out into an oval shape. Roll the boiled eggs in flour so they have a light coating. Remove the top layer of clingfilm and place one of the eggs into the centre of the oval. Use the bottom layer to help wrap the sausagemeat around the egg until it is completely encased. Set to one side and repeat with the remaining eggs and sausagemeat.

6. Roll the meat-wrapped egg in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a large saucepan until it registers 150°C on a thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, toss a few breadcrumbs into the oil and if they start to sizzle and brown within a minute, it’s hot enough.

7. Deep fry the Scotch eggs for 5 minutes, turning halfway through and then transfer to a baking tray and finish off in the oven for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with smoked paprika before serving hot or cold.