Recipe: Sous vide egg salad

I usually post on Tuesdays, but I didn’t get this week’s entry up in time yesterday. And no, it wasn’t because it was Tax Day. (A tangential tax story: the hubs and I sat down to do our taxes last weekend, and with my Canadian cooking show, ”Four Senses,” it got to being way over our heads, so we had to call up our CPA again and implore her to file an extension and do our taxes. I can manage my way around sharp knives, but I’m completely lost when it comes to tax code this and deduction that.)But enough about the less jovial stuff, and on to better, more delicious things…like eggs.Who doesn’t love eggs? Well, not counting you allergic or vegan folks. Every Easter, I shudder at the thought of all these hard-boiled eggs going to waste after the children dye their eggs and have their hunts. And since I’ve had a recent insatiable hankering for egg salad, I thought I’d share this simple but yummy recipe. I make a large batch, and the hubs and I whittle away at it throughout the week. He eats it with a side salad of mesclun, tomato, cucumber, avocado, grated cheese (whichever kind we have on hand), and a vinaigrette. I eat it in between toasted multigrain bread with tomato and avocado slices and alfalfa sprouts (which, I’m happy to report, I’ve been successfully sprouting at home after our local grocery store stopped carrying them—more on alfalfa later).Ever since we got the PolyScience immersion circulator, we have been obsessed with vacuum-sealing everything (just short of my Chucks) and tossing it into the regulated water bath. Our PolyScience does not discriminate against eggs. The hubs took the Instagram video above and said it was “like watching an egg ballet.” I was beaming with pride—I think that was the most eloquent metaphor I’ve ever heard from him.With eggs, there’s no need to vacuum-seal since you aren’t trying to trap in any marinades or seasonings. The egg’s natural shell usually protects the egg just fine. For barely-boiled eggs great for noodle soups like ramen, cook the eggs at 62.8°C for 40 minutes. For hard-boiled eggs like the ones you’ll need for this egg salad, cook them at 73.9°C for 40 minutes. (For a really informative read on this topic, read this Serious Eats post on sous vide eggs.). Otherwise, if you’re boiling the eggs the primitive way in a pot full of water, follow these steps.

How to make perfect hard-boiled eggs:

1. Place the eggs in a saucepan and fill with enough water to generously cover all the eggs; bring to a boil.
2. As soon as water begins boiling at a pretty solid boil, remove from heat, cover, and start the egg timer (do you still really have one of these?) or iPhone for 12 minutes.
3. When the timer dings, drain the water from the saucepan, and run cold water over the eggs. Throw in some ice cubes to cool quickly.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy eggs? Do you have any tips for a stellar egg salad? What will you be eating this Easter? Observed Passover? What did you eat for that?Now without further ado, on to the egg ballet.

Recipe: Egg Salad

Notes: Eat in a sandwich, as part of a salad, or by itself.

Ingredients

1. 8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled & chopped
2. 1/3 c mayo
3. 1 tsp Dijon mustard
4. 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
5. 1/2 lemon, juiced
6. 1/4 c chopped scallion
7. 1/4 tsp paprika
8. salt & pepper to taste
9. tomato slices and alfalfa sprouts for garnish

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, both Dijon and yellow mustards, and lemon juice. In a medium bowl, combine egg, mayo-mustard mixture, scallion, paprika, salt & pepper; being careful to fold everything together to keep eggs from mashing (unless that’s the texture you’re going for).
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 min for flavors to combine.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: N/A

Number of servings (yield): 4