Author Notes
My family raises chickens and the bounty can be overwhelming at times. This is a good way to use the bounty and have a good brown-bag lunch. I love egg salad but find that the traditional mayo-only version can be too heavy. The tart wine vinegar and the mustard brighten the flavor, the celery adds crunch, and the chopped herbs add freshness. —JORJ
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Ingredients
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6
eggs
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1/2 cup
mayonaise (Hellman's is my go-to)
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1 teaspoon
Coleman's mustard powder
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1/5 tablespoon
chopped herbs (I used dill and fennel fronds)
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1/2 cup
chopped celery ribs -- with leaves
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1/2
red onion -- finely chopped
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1/4 cup
red wine vinegar
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salt and pepper
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romaine lettuce
Directions
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Put the 6 eggs in a pot and cover well with water. Put it on high heat and let it come to a boil. Once it boils, take the pot off the heat, and let it stand, covered for 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, chop the onion and put it in a bowl with salt and add the red wine vinegar till it is all wet. I find raw onions to be a difficult to digest so I like to salt them and put them in vinegar to "cook" them a little. To aid the "cooking", you can stir this mixture every so often.
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Chop the celery and the herbs and put them to the side.
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Put the mayo in another small bowl and add the mustard powder. Mix it well and set it aside.
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Once the eggs have been in their hot bath for the requisite ten minutes, put them in a bowl with some ice and water and stick them in the fridge and go do something else (I went to the gym this morning. Good for me!). This lag time allows the onions to really sweat down in their vinegar and salt and for the mustard to really come to life in the mayo. Also, the eggs are easier to peel after being in the fridge.
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[after 30 minutes or so] Dump the ice water out of the bowl with the eggs and wipe it out to dry it. Peel and coarsely chop the eggs, dropping the pieces back into the bowl. Add the chopped onions, but try not to add all the liquid with them -- pull them out with a fork. No need to be too persnickety about this but you don't want the salad to be too wet. Add everything else to the bowl, including a few good turns of black pepper from the pepper mill. Taste it to make sure it is well balanced-- is it too tart? do you need to add more mayo? Does it need more salt?
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Toast some bread and top it with your egg salad. Add a couple of pieces of romaine and you are golden! Lunch heaven!
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