Last Sunday, I found myself in a most unlikely situation.

We had a table of guests who were staying overnight, and one of them ordered - wait for it - a spinach and egg white omelette.

This is Edinburgh. We like to eat fatty good things here, not new-fangled New York kind of food.

But, after much head-scratching, we obliged. And it got me thinking about egg whites, and what else we could do with them.

So, on Tuesday, I started experimenting. I started whisking up egg whites and adding in things like cheese, pepper, and paprika. The result was a kind of savoury baked Alaska, which was delicious.

But how could we make this sweet?

I give you my muesli meringue. It's as healthy as orange juice and a hundred times more delicious.

 

Recipe serves four

For the meringue

8 egg whites (save the yolks - cover them with cling film and put them in the fridge)

2 oz icing sugar

Pinch of salt

 

1 Whisk whites with a Kenwood mixer (or a strong husband. Or a wife, come to think of it.)

2 Slowly add the icing sugar and the salt

 

For the muesli

8 sultanas

8 hazlenuts

8 dates,

8 apricots

Handful of oatmeal

A small pot of yoghurt per person

Any of the following things work too: coconut, pistachios, and currants.

 

1 fold in carefully to omelette with a spatula and add the oatmeal

2 Line a greaseproof tray, pour in the mixture and cook for 15 mins at 180c.

 

For the sabayon (a light Italian mousse)

8 egg yolks

Glass of cheap and cheerful dessert wine

1 oz sugar

2 tablespoon warm water

 

1 Combine all the ingredients and whisk in a round-bottomed bowl over a bain-marie

2 Keep taking the mixture away from the heat - you don't want the sabayon to be scrambled

3 When the mixture is three times the volume with air, after about 8-10 minutes, it's done. It should be light and creamy coloured

4 Take the muesli meringue and lightly spoon the sabayon on top of it

5 On top of the sabayon, sprinkle toasted almonds with gay abandon

 

Serve with any sort of sugar-coated biscuit.