Hard-Boiled Egg Patties & Mash

📝 Ingredients

• 6 eggs (5 hard-boiled for the patties, 1 raw for binding)
• 1 brown onion (about 100 g)
• 20 g fresh chives (15 g for the patties, 5 g for the cucumber)
• 50 g breadcrumbs (30 g in the mixture, 20 g for coating)
• 1 ½ tbsp sunflower oil (½ for the onion, 1 for frying)
• 500 g floury potatoes (about 4 medium)
• 120 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 10 g unsalted butter
• 1 cucumber (about 300 g)
• 125 g plain whole milk yoghurt (1 pot)
• Salt, black pepper, nutmeg

🍴 Utensils

• 2 saucepans
• Non-stick frying pan
• Mixing bowl
• Potato masher
• Spatula
• Colander

📖 Steps

1. Place 5 eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Cook for 10 minutes at a gentle boil, then plunge them straight into a large bowl of very cold water: they'll peel more easily and the yolks won't turn green.
2. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, cut them into even-sized pieces and put them in a saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes over a medium heat, until the tip of a knife slides in without resistance.
3. Peel the onion and chop it very finely. Fry it gently for 4 to 5 minutes over a medium heat in the frying pan with ½ tbsp oil, until soft and translucent, without letting it brown. Tip it into a mixing bowl and leave to cool slightly.
4. Peel the hard-boiled eggs, mash them finely with a fork and add them to the onion with 15 g snipped chives, the raw egg and 30 g breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and mix: the mixture should hold together when you squeeze it in your hand. If it's too sticky, leave it to rest for 5 minutes.
5. With wet hands, shape 6 patties about 1.5 cm thick, pressing them firmly, then coat both sides in the remaining 20 g breadcrumbs. Chill for 10 minutes: they'll hold together better when cooking.
6. Wash the cucumber, cut it into very thin slices, salt lightly and leave to drain for 10 minutes in a colander. Squeeze it between your hands to remove the water, then mix with the yoghurt, 5 g snipped chives and a grind of pepper.
7. Drain the potatoes and mash them with a potato masher. Add the butter, then the milk (warmed for 1 minute in the microwave) a little at a time, stirring with the spatula until you have a soft mash. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg, then cover.
8. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the patties for 3 to 4 minutes on each side without moving them, until a golden crust forms, then turn them carefully with the spatula. Serve straight away with the mash and the well-chilled cucumber.