Anglesey Eggs (Ŵyau Ynys Môn) – This classic Welsh recipe of mashed potatoes with leeks & hard boiled eggs, is baked in a cheese sauce with a crisp crumb topping, and makes a thrifty and tasty midweek supper dish for all the family.
with
Co-Op Irresistible Mashing Potatoes
Today’s recipe is a classic, Anglesey Eggs (Ŵyau Ynys Môn), a wonderful Welsh recipe from the island of Anglesey, which is separated from mainland Wales by The Menai Strait, or Afon Menai as it is known locally. As with lots of regional recipes in the British Isles, the origins of the recipe are unknown, but I have seen several variations of eggs baked “Au Gratin” from my time living in France, and the Bretagne (Breton) version also uses leeks, and is very similar insofar as it also uses a cheese sauce to bind all the ingredients together. I love these simple, regional recipes, and this one is one of my favourites, a supremely easy supper dish that takes the minimum of effort to cook, making it especially suitable for a midweek family supper dish.
The key ingredients for this tasty baked recipe are, mashing potatoes, of which I used Co-Op Irresistible Mashing Potatoes, which were grown in the UK, as well as fresh leeks, Caerphilly cheese and home-reared free-range eggs. The variety of potatoes I used were Lilly, a yellow-skinned mashing potato that resulted in a pile of fluffy, buttery mash; exclusive to the Co-Op, they come in 1.5kg bags and are available from mid-October. Added to my perfectly buttery and fluffy mash, were sautéed leeks and hard boiled eggs, which were all baked au gratin in a cheese sauce that was topped with a crispy, cheesy crumb! This is simple food, using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients in which the quality shines through.
The recipe is shared below, on a printable recipe card, and as well as being a wonderful family supper dish, I can see this baked potato and egg dish being the perfect weekend brunch dish, or even when served for Christmas morning, with a glass of fizz! I haven’t tried this myself yet, but, you could make this recipe ahead of time, right up the pre-baking stage, then cover it, keep it in the fridge overnight, and then next morning, (or evening) whip it out for ten or fifteen minutes to bring it to room temperature, before whacking it in the oven for an easy and stress free weekend brunch, or weekend family luncheon dish. And, why not elevate this tasty but humble dish by baking it in individual cast iron pots for a bit of Gallic chic?! C’est parfait, or mae’n wych as they say in Wales.
This fabulous recipe is perfect for all year around, but never more so than for a cold winter’s evening, when you can all sit around the fire, in your PJ’s why not, and eat this dish balanced on your lap! I have suggested using Wale’s famous Caerphilly cheese, as it works so well in this dish, but you can of course use any cheese that takes your fancy, and I suspect a sharp, mature Cheddar would be good, as well as any other regional British cheeses such as Wensleydale, Cheshire or Double Gloucester. I hope you enjoy this historical regional recipe from Wales if you make it, and do let me know how it went down with you and your family. Karen
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Anglesey Eggs (Ŵyau Ynys Môn)
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 to 6 |
| Prep time | 20 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 50 minutes |
| Allergy | Egg, Milk, Wheat |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Breakfast, Lunch, Main Dish, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Casual Party, Christmas, Easter |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 8 hard boiled eggs (shelled and quartered)
- 1 large leek, or 2 small leeks (trimmed, finely diced and rinsed thoroughly)
- 50g butter (cut into 2 x 25g pieces)
- 1 kilo Co-Op Lilly mashing potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks (or mashing potatoes that are available)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 150g Caerphilly cheese (crumbled and separated into 2 portions)
- black pepper to taste
Sauce
- 25g butter
- 50g plain flour
- 600ml milk
- sea salt to taste (I used Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt)
Topping
- 50g breadcrumbs
Note
This classic Welsh recipe of mashed potatoes with leeks & hard boiled eggs, is baked in a cheese sauce with a crisp crumb topping, and makes a thrifty and tasty midweek supper dish for all the family. NB: Can easily be halved to serve 2 people, using 4 eggs, the prep and cooking time will be slightly reduced too.
(Please note, that the prep and cooking time is the time that it took me to make this dish, and is to be used as a guideline only!)
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6. Grease a baking dish or tin with a little butter. Fry the leeks in 25g of butter over a medium heat until they are soft, about 5 minutes. |
| Step 2 | Whilst the leeks are coking, boil the potatoes in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft but still hold their shape; drain them and add the remaining 25g of butter and milk. Mash them with a masher or with a hand held whisk until smooth, then season to taste with salt and pepper. |
| Step 3 | Add the cooked leeks to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Spoon the mashed potato mixture into the prepared baking dish or tin and arrange the quartered hard boiled eggs on top of the mashed potatoes. |
| Step 4 | Using the same pan that the leeks were cooked in, add the milk, flour and butter, and beat together over a medium heat with a wire whisk continuously until the sauce thickens and is smooth. Allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes. Add one portion (half) of the Caerphilly cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for further minute stirring well. Pour the sauce over the mashed potatoes and eggs. |
| Step 5 | Mix the remaining Caerphilly cheese with the breadcrumbs, and sprinkle over the mashed potatoes, eggs and cheese sauce. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the dish is bubbling and golden brown. |
| Step 6 | Serve immediately for brunch, lunch or supper. |
| Step 7 | NB: Can easily be halved to serve 2 people, using 4 eggs, the prep and cooking time will be slightly reduced too. |
Lori says
That looks delicious and perfect for a cold winter day.
Karen Burns-Booth says
It’s such a comforting dish Lori and so easy to make too!
Ron says
I once had a colleague who hailed from Anglesey and once worked at the now shuttered aluminium smelter. He used to talk about this dish. I’ve never got around to trying it, but now I can. Perhaps for Sunday brunch on the First of Advent. Some streaky bacon, Ŵyau Ynys Môn and a nice fruit salad. Oh and of course, we’ll need to have some bubbly. Thanks for the memory and recipe.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thank you Ron, what fabulous memories to have your friend and his love of this comforting dish too! The First Sunday in Advent would be a great time to try it with smoked streaky bacon as you say, and definitely a glass of fizz! Karen
Emma Lander says
I saw this on your instagram and hoped the recipe would be on your blog. It looks so delicious
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Emma, and it is very easy to make too, just boil some spuds and eggs, and fry a few leeks and then put it all together!
Liz Thomas says
Ah! Food of my childhood! I come from Anglesey originally and still go back twice a year between the France and Asia seasons!
In Langkawi at present escaping the cold although friends tell us the weather is quite nice over there at the moment.
We still didn’t manage to meet up did we! Seems you had a really busy year.. Back in April as usual so must try again next year.
Meanwhile, off to see if I can find some decent potatoes for mashing.
Cheers!
Liz
PS: I too worked at Anglesey Aluminum way back in time. First for the consulting engineers during construction and for a short time with the company itself.
Karen Burns-Booth says
That is FAB Liz! I never knew that you hailed from Anglesey originally, and thanks for sharing your memories here too!
I have news of a move, can you email me please, as I am know you use your husband’s email account and I cannot find it!
Thanks!
Karen
Ann Hall says
I made a scaled down version for one for my supper last night. Delicious!
Karen Burns-Booth says
That is wonderful – thanks for letting me know Ann, and it is very easy to scale down too! Karen
Ratnamurti Saraswati says
this looks and sounds delicious. Dinner tonight.
Karen Burns-Booth says
I hope you enjoyed it! Karen
Jenny Davies says
Karen, I’m confused. I made this recipe today and halved the ingredients because there was just two of us eating. However, having come back to review the recipe after the making of it, I notice that you too only used the four eggs but the recipe states using 8 eggs. Did you only make enough for two as well? If so, why didn’t you state the ingredient quantities according to the photographs? I find things like this so misleading. Aaand another thing – lol – both the prep and the cooking time took me FOR EVER and certainly nowhere near the 35 minutes you state. I’d say I was in the kitchen for a good hour and a half to two hours from start to finish – and even then I hadn’t cooked the darned thing – I made it early and cooked it a couple of hours later. I was so glad I did! Now I know that being disabled, I’m slower in the kitchen as there’s no trit trotting back and forwards doing three things at once, but even so – you had to have been jet propelled to have made it from start to finish in 35 minutes! Aaaanyway, all that aside, my son and I loved this dish. It took me back to childhood when I would stay over at my Aunt’s house and she would cook these sorts of dinners. My son loved it because it was cheesy, used mash and ssshhh .. I added some chopped bacon in with the eggs. 😉 We were both totally stuffed and very happy. 😀
Karen Burns-Booth says
I am sorry Jenny, but sometimes I can only show a photo that is recent, because I may not have taken a photo beforehand, and the most recent one showed 4 eggs, but I had made an 8 egg one the day before, and it is my usual size of egg dish too, as all the family LOVE this recipe. I assume from your comments that you halved it with success, and it worked? It should do, as it is not a cake recipe, but a simple mashed potato recipe with eggs, leeks and a quick white sauce, and I halve it regularly.
Hmmmmm…..it REALLY did only take me that time to prep the dish and cook it, it’s a bit unfair to to say that the timings were that far out by OVER an hour, as we all work at a different speed, and it’s only a guideline…..the prep took me 15 minutes, and the cooking time was about 20 to 25 minutes, with the leeks happily sauteing next to the spuds as they boiled…..nearly 2 hours seems unusually excessive to me, sorry!
I may add on 10 to 15 minutes on my recipe card, but I really did cook the recipe from start to finish in the time specified, HOWEVER, I DID have all the ingredients to hand and ready to go!!!
BUT, PHEW!….I am VERY pleased that after your 2 hours in the kitchen, that you and your son eventually enjoyed the dish, and I am VERY pleased that it brought back happy memories, after all, that’s what food is all about at the end of the day! Based on your comments, I will add a note to the recipe, to say that as a “nifty” cook and baker, I may be quicker than most at prepping, and advise that the prep and cook time is a guideline only!
Thanks for taking the time to comment here, I’ve not seen you for some time, I must pop over to see what you have been doing too!
Karen
Shelagh says
This looks lovely – I can’t wait to try it. I don’t know if anyone’s ever mentioned it, but I’d like to print the recipe without the photo so that, hopefully, it will fit on one side of A4. When I click ‘Print Recipe’, the 2nd option, to print without the photo, is underneath the photo 🙁 I’ve tried in Internet Explorer, just in case it was a Chrome issue, but it’s the same in both browsers. I’ve tried a few different recipes and the same issue affects them all.
Karen Burns-Booth says
I am so sorry about this Shelagh, the software and widget is a plug in that I use, and is not under my control – I will email the designer and let them know, and see what happens! Karen
Alexander Hay-Whitton says
Don’t boil the potatoes; cook them very gently in butter, covered, with the leeks, then mash the lot. They develop far better flavour.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Sounds like an interesting version, thanks for sharing. Karen
E.A. says
This looks like such a fun recipe – any suggestions of what to substitute for the caerphilly cheese for those of us across the pond? Thanks!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hello! Yes, use any crumbly fresh, acidic tasting cheese such a Cheshire, Wensleydale or Lancashire cheese.
Steve says
Absolutely delicious and so easy to prepare. Your recipe is bang on! For our next meal of Anglesey Eggs, being Canadian, we’ll have to add some crumbled maple bacon with the eggs, of course. Thank you, Karen, for adding to our culinary repertoire~ loved it!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed this recipe Steve. I love your Canadian additions too! Karen
Alexander Hay-Whitton says
The results are far better if you gently melt the leeks and potatoes in a sealed pot with lots of better, then mash them.