Scotch woodcock Scotch woodcock Scotch woodcock is a British savoury dish consisting of creamy, lightly-scrambled eggs served on toast that has been spread with anchovy paste or Gentleman's Relish, and sometimes topped with chopped herbs and black pepper. It is most often served as an hors d'oeuvre. Scotch woodcock was served in the refreshment rooms of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as late as 1949. It was also served historically at the colleges of the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford and it continues to be served at the Oxford and Cambridge Club as an alternative to
Easter egg or using artificial colourings. A greater variety of colour was often provided by tying on the onion skin with different coloured woollen yarn. In the North of England these are called pace-eggs or paste-eggs, from a dialectal form of Middle English "pasche". They were usually eaten after an egg-jarping (egg tapping) competition. In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, with further symbolism being found in the hard shell of the egg symbolizing the sealed Tomb of Christ — the cracking of which symbolized his resurrection from the dead. When