It’s one of simplest thing to make. Boil an egg, mush it all up, dollop in some mayo and crunchies, smear on some bread. Huzzah, lunch! Egg salad, just like Mom used to make.
It’s pretty hard to mess this up. You usually have what it takes to throw together together a tasty egg salad. You can make one that reminds you of Mom-made school lunches. Or you can get fancy and dress up your egg salad with pimentos and curry, bacon and anchovies (although maybe not in those combinations). To get you started, here’s a classic ingredient list from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated:
6 large eggs
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
½ medium celery rib, chopped fine
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
1.
Start with fresh eggs — no, really fresh eggs. Farm-fresh eggs. Don’t know where to go to get them? Visit the green market. Meet a farmer. Ask your local, organic, foodie friends. Our eggs come from Heritage Hen Farm in Boynton Beach. We visit their Très Fresh Farm Gate Store, which is open Tuesday through Friday from 5 to 7 p.m., for fresh eggs every week. Surprised by the colors? Svetlana Simon, one of the farmers at Heritage Hen, says the breed of the chicken determines the color of the egg and that by looking at the earlobes, you can determine what color egg the hen will lay.
2.
Boil and peel the eggs. For the ultimate recipe, count on Cook’s Illustrated, which instructs us to put the eggs in a saucepan with water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with 1 quart of water and ice cubes. Transfer the eggs to the ice-water bath with a slotted spoon and let sit for 5 minutes. To peel the egg, tap it all over to crack the shell, rolling it gently back and forth on the kitchen counter. Start peeling egg from the wider end and attempt to peel the shell in spiral strips.
3.
Chop the eggs and slowly incorporate the other ingredients. (Tip: whisk together the mayo and Dijon to avoid mustard streaks.) Season with salt and pepper. Spread the egg salad on your choice of bread and cut your sandwich as desired. Trimming off the bread crusts is optional. Calling your mama after finishing your lunch is not.
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