Anglesey Eggs

Anglesey eggs is a classic Welsh dish made with hard-boiled eggs served on a bed of mashed potatoes and leeks, smothered in a rich and creamy cheese sauce. This dish can be enjoyed on its own as an easy lunch or light supper or served with a piece of lightly battered fish for a more substantial meal.

This Anglesey eggs recipe is said to have originated on the island of Anglesey, which is a small island separated from the north Welsh mainland by the Menai Strait. It is believed the recipe evolved as a way of utilising local Welsh products, such as leeks and Caerphilly cheese.

It's a simple, meatless recipe, utilising simple ingredients, but it packs a mighty punch in the flavour department.

A dish of Anglesey eggs consists of three layers:

• The first layer is made with buttery mashed leeks and potatoes.
• These are topped with halved or quartered hard-boiled eggs.
• Then the dish is topped with a layer of creamy cheese sauce before being baked in the oven to melt the cheese.
• Finally (and you could call it the fourth layer if you wanted to) the dish is garnished with a sprinkling of chopped chives before being served.

As I mentioned, a traditional Anglesey eggs recipe is made with Welsh Caerphilly cheese, which is a mild-favoured, light-coloured cheese. If you can't find it in your supermarket, the closest substitute is a good old English cheddar which is what I used to make this recipe.

A dish of Anglesey eggs is traditionally eaten as a lunch or light supper on its own, but I thought it would be ideal for serving with these pan-fried fish fillets instead of chips. And I wasn't wrong! The mash, hard-boiled eggs and cheese sauce pair beautifully with the fish. Anglesey eggs with lightly battered fish has now earned itself a place on my meal rotation.

This dish is quite similar to my earlier recipe for haddock au gratin which has leeks incorporated into a cheese sauce.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• How to boil an egg
• Tips for a successful outcome
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Fun Fact
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Ingredients

This dish will serve 2 to 3 people when served by itself, or it will serve 4 people as a side dish served with pieces of battered fish.

• Leeks - trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise and rinsed to remove any bits of dirt, then cut into half-inch slices.
• Potatoes - peeled and cut into chunks. You can use any potato that you would normally use to make mash. Avoid waxy potatoes as they don't mash as well as the more floury varieties.
• Eggs - these should be hard-boiled, peeled and cut into halves or quarters.
• Cream - this is a single (or pouring) cream and is used to mash with the leeks and potatoes.
• Butter - this is used both for softening the leeks and for making the cheese sauce.
• Grated cheese - if you can get your hands on some Caerphilly cheese, you can use that, otherwise cheddar is the best substitute.
• Flour - use for thickening the sauce.
• Chives - finely chopped and used for garnish.
• You will also need salt and ground black pepper for seasoning.

If you intend to serve these Anglesey eggs with fish, I can recommend this recipe for pan-fried fish fillets, which will also serve 4 people.

**You can find the exact ingredient quantities for making Anglesey eggs on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Instructions

Cheese sauce

Assemble and bake

How to boil an egg

See this article for how to boil an egg on the BBC Good Food website. It tells you how long you need to boil an egg to get a perfectly cooked soft or hard-boiled egg.

Cooking tips:

• Use eggs at room temperature to minimize cracking.  
• If not serving immediately, plunge the hard-boiled egg into cold water for one minute. 
• Crack the shell with the back of a spoon during cooling to make the egg easier to peel. 
• Don't leave longer than the specified time; boiling an egg for too long can make it rubbery.

Tips for a successful outcome

Here are my top tips to ensure your Anglesey eggs always turn out perfectly:

• When softening the leeks, don't allow them to brown. They should just soften gently in the butter.
• When you add the potatoes to the leeks do not pour away any butter. The potatoes will pick up the buttery flavour as they boil.
• Mashing the potatoes and leeks with a little cream gives them a softer texture. You could mash the potatoes with a small knob of butter and a splash of milk if you prefer.
• Don't boil the eggs for too long - 10 minutes should give you a perfect hard-boiled egg with a firm but still creamy yolk.
• When making the sauce, use a balloon whisk for stirring to minimise the chance of lumps forming in the sauce.

Variations

This dish is traditionally made with leeks. I think it's the sweetness of the leeks that pairs so well with the eggs and cheese that does it! However, nothing is stopping you from swapping the leeks with other vegetables of your choice.

You can vary the dish by using any vegetables that mash well with potatoes. Here are a few suggestions but I'm sure you can think of lots of others:

• A combination of both leeks and brussels sprouts is delicious (I've tried that one).
• Baby spinach would work well as would shredded swiss chard.
• You can also use this recipe for South African boereboontjies (or mashed green beans) in place of the potato and leek mash.
• Try leaving out the leeks and mixing a combination of peas and whole kernel corn through the mashed potatoes.

If you prefer a crunchier topping, add half a cup of Panko breadcrumbs to the grated cheese before sprinkling it on top.

Equipment

To make Anglesey eggs you will need the following equipment:

• A saucepan for boiling the leeks and potatoes, and a colander to drain them. To make the mash you will need a potato masher.
• You will also need a saucepan for boiling the eggs and another for making the sauce. I normally boil the eggs and pop them into cold water then use the same saucepan for the sauce.
• Finally you will need an ovenproof baking dish large enough to hold the potatoes, eggs and sauce. The one I used was 5" x 6" and it was a tight fit to get everything in. I suggest you use one slightly larger, but it depends on how many potatoes you make as to how large the dish should be.

Storage

Unfortunately, this dish isn't really suitable for freezing.

You can store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheat them in the microwave.

You can also assemble the dish ahead of time, cover it tightly with aluminium foil and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bake for the time and temperature given in the recipe.

Fun Fact

Save for later

If you would like to try this Anglesey eggs recipe, why not save it to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Related recipes

Visit my vegetable recipes page for other meatless recipe ideas. Here are a few you might enjoy:

📋The recipe

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