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Deviled
Egg Salad – for Appetizer or Sandwiches
At
the risk of blasphemy, I’m starting to write about Deviled egg salad on Easter
Sunday. Worse yet, I made it today, on Easter, as part of dinner.
For
many centuries, for Christians the egg has symbolized Christ emerging victorious
from death and the tomb after his crucifixion, as a baby bird emerges living
from inside its seemingly dead shell. But while Christians have long venerated
the egg at Easter, it actually goes back much further to pre-Christian pagan
traditions as a symbol of new life, rebirth, and springtime, when nature
reemerges from the dead of winter. All of that was captured by early
Christians.
Given
the positive religious veneration of the egg, it’s ironic that Deviled Eggs are
quite popular. This even includes at church receptions and pot luck socials. Of
course some church traditions, especially in the South, delicately refer to
these questionably named treats as “Stuffed Eggs.”
The
Devil has, to my knowledge, little to do with dishes named after him. It’s a
fun theme used by cooks in recent centuries to indicate that mustard is a
prominent ingredient in the dish. Mustard, being hot and sulfurous, suggests
the fumes emanating from a smoldering volcano with its fire and brimstone,
which is supposed to be the Devil’s lair. Early people almost certainly
assigned the active volcano pit metaphor to their sense of what Hell must be
like.
After
all that, I’m not actually making Deviled Eggs (which I like) at Easter, but
rather an egg salad influenced by seasonings in Deviled Eggs. This egg salad
can be an appetizer or dip, or can in the traditional way be a sandwich
filling.
The
recipe makes sufficient egg salad for appetizers for six people or can make two
to three hearty sandwiches.
4
eggs, hard-boiled 13-15 minutes and cooled
1
tablespoon Dijon or spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons
mayonnaise
1/2
teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2
teaspoon cider or wine vinegar
1/8
teaspoon ground black pepper
Large
squirt of hot sauce or large pinch cayenne
Paprika
for garnish
Shell
and rinse the hard-boiled eggs and put them in a mixing bowl. With a fork break
uo the white and yolks thoroughly, so the white is in tiny pieces. Add all the
remaining ingredients except the paprika
Mix thoroughly. Let rest ten minutes, mix again and then taste it. Add a
little salt, if needed.
The
egg salad can be stored, cold, until serving time, up to a day. If serving as
an appetizer, spoon into an attractive serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika.
Accompany with crackers or crudités for dipping or spreading. Otherwise, use as
a sandwich filling.
