Whenever we were invited to a braai (barbeque) in South Africa, I was always asked to ‘bring those eggy cheesy things’, to hand round as an appetiser. Delicious morsels of egg, sausage and cheese baked on rounds of fajita wraps. Quick and easy mini quiches, perfect for nibbling while waiting for the main event. Give them a try at your next get-together – I’m sure you’ll love them.
**As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.**
The South African braai
A South African braai (or as we say in England, barbeque) is a very social occasion. Lots of food, lots of drink, lots of laughter. It’s a very casual affair. You are invited for a braai – ‘Oh come round any time – we’ll probably start the braai at about 3’ – and you just know the food will only be served at 7 if you are lucky.
It’s all done with the best of intentions. The fire probably does get started (quite early in the afternoon actually) and then the men all congregate around the coals drinking vast quantities of beer, and discussing the latest rugby or cricket score (depending on the season).
Meanwhile, the children are having the time of their lives in the pool. The better-halves (ie wives and girlfriends) are all sitting around discussing their latest milk tart recipe (not really, I just wanted to get a mention in) whatever it is that ladies discuss, and a jolly good time is had by all.
The fire dies down and more coals get added numerous times until one of the ladies (usually the hostess) calls out ‘hey – when’s the food going to be ready?’ and the serious business of cooking the meat gets underway.
Keep the hunger pangs at bay
Consequently, when invited to a braai, everyone brings plates of snacks to keep the hunger pangs at bay while waiting for the steaks and sausages to be ready. The snacks vary from plates of biltong and bowls of crisps, to more elaborate snacks such as homemade sausage rolls or mini quiches. These cheese and sweetcorn samosas were always very popular, as were these ham and cheese pinwheels and my sweetcorn fritters.
Eggy cheesy things are really just mini quiches containing chopped hard-boiled eggs and good quality vienna sausages. The pastry is made by cuttings rounds out of a fajita wrap. They are delicious served either hot or cold and make a great appetiser or party snack.
I was browsing the internet the other day found this article on South African braais. I found the section entitled Braai Etiquette quite amusing.
This recipe doesn’t really have a proper name. I’ve been asked so many times to ‘bring those eggy cheesy things’ that the name has stuck. And even though they are actually mini quiches, that’s what they are called.
How to make Eggy Cheesy Mini Quiches
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions on how to make this steak and kidney on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Ingredients for eggy cheesy things
When I’m planning a recipe I like to have a quick glance at all the ingedients, to make sure I have everything to hand. These are the ingredients you will need to make Eggy Cheesy Things.
This is sufficient to make 12 mini quiches, you can double up on the fajita wraps, eggs and sausages to made more if you like.
You may find that the amount of milk, cream and eggs, used for pouring over the quiches is sufficient for more than 12, so I haven’t doubled that. The extra amount you need to add will depend on how many extra quiches you are going to be making.
- Large Fajita Wraps – 3 wraps should yield 12 circles
- Hardboiled Eggs (2 eggs will be sufficient for 12 mini quiches)
- German Bockwurst Sausages (or good quality vienna sausages. 2 will be sufficient for 12 quiches)
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce
- 125 ml Single Cream
- 125 ml Milk
- 2 large Eggs lightly beaten
- 50g grated cheddar cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 Tablespoons Milk to soak the fajitas
How to make eggy cheesy things
You can throw these together in under half an hour, so they are ideal for preparing at the last minute.
Line the muffin pans
- Cut circles out of fajita wraps and soak them in milk for a minute or two until they are soft enough to fit into a greased muffin tin (image 1 above).
- The easiest way to cut the circles is to fold each fajita in half to make a semi-circle. Fold in half again, so you end up with a quarter circle with 4 layers. Press a large cup in the middle of the quarter circle to mark the size and then cut it out with a pair of scissors so that you get 4 circles from 1 faijita.
Fill the mini quiches
- Add a small amount of tomato sauce (ketchup) to the fajitas in the muffin tin (image 2 above).
- Chop the hard-boiled eggs and sausages quite finely. These mini quiches are quite small and a finely chopped filling will fit in them more easily than a chunky filling. Place a spoonful of chopped hard-boiled eggs and sausages on each fajita (image 3 above).
- Top with a mixture of egg and cream.. Take care not to overfill otherwise the mixture will bubble out over the muffin tray when baking (image 4 above).
- Sprinkle each one with a little grated cheese (image 5 above).
Bake
- The oven should be quite hot for these, so pre-heat it to 200F / 400C
- Once the oven is hot, place the tray in the oven and leave for about 10 to 15 minutes. The mini quiches will be cooked when the cheese is golden brown and melted, and they will feel firm to the touch, indicating that the egg has set (image 6 above).
Do Eggy Cheesy mini quiches freeze well?
No (sorry). They have to be eaten fresh, on the day you make them or they will go soggy and chewy.
If you’d like to be notified of any new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter. As a thank-you gift, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.
Pin for later
Why not pin this recipe for eggy cheesy things to your pinterest board so you can make it later. Just click the image below.
Recipe – Eggy Cheesy Things
Eggy Cheesy Things
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Pair of scissors
- Measuring cups
Ingredients
- 3 Fajita Wraps
- 4 Tablespoons Milk to soak the fajitas
- 2 large Hardboiled Eggs finely chopped
- 2 German Bockwurst Sausages finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce
- 2 large Eggs
- ½ cup Single Cream (125ml)
- ½ cup Milk (125ml)
- 2 ounce Cheddar Cheese (50 g) grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut 4 rounds from each fajita, large enough to line a shallow muffin tin. You need 12 in all.
- Soak the fajita rounds in milk to soften
- Grease a 12-hole shallow muffin tin and line each hole with the softened fajitas
- Combine the chopped egg and sausage in a bowl
- Put a small amount of tomato sauce in the centre of each fajita
- Top each fajita with a spoonful of the egg and sausage mixture
- Measure the cream into a measuring jug, add 2 eggs and then top up the measuring jug to the 1-cup mark with milk. Mix well.
- Pour the egg mixture carefully over each fajita being careful not to overfill
- Top with grated cheese
- Bake in a preheated oven for 10 – 15 minutes until the mixture is set and the cheese is melted.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I’d love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you’d like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you. And don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!
If you’d like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.
Leave a Reply