When the bunny brings eggs you absolutely must make egg salad. It’s turned into kind of a family tradition to have egg salad sandwiches for an easy dinner the day after Easter, but you know what – it’s a wonderful treat all year long. I’ve encountered a few friends who vaguely were on the fence about egg salad, but I think I’ve converted them all. With a couple of simple tricks, you can make egg salad that will always be a crowd pleaser. Egg salad is amazingly inexpensive and a healthy protein is always welcome. A few hard-boiled eggs and a bit of mayonnaise are the way to start. My secret ingredient is a couple of chopped sweet pickles and a few drops of pickle juice. It’s a surprisingly delicious little touch. Very finely chopped celery adds crunch and a small amount of chopped green onion is a delicious taste as well. Herbs are optional, but if you can get your hands on a bit of parsley it adds a fresh taste and my favorite herb for egg salad -fresh dill - is that zingy little taste that makes everything perfect. You can substitute dried dill, but don’t leave it out! Finally a spoonful of capers is a surprising pop of salty flavor. Salt and pepper to taste and there you have it – Perfect Egg Salad.
Of course there are a million other things you could include, like curry powder, mustard, fresh tarragon – the list goes on, but basically you just have to use what you like. In fact I think the only way to mess up egg salad is to mash it up. Eggs should be chopped – not smashed, that texture makes it a deal breaker for me. Now that you have a batch of Perfect Egg Salad, I suggest you serve it on lightly toasted bread with a little lettuce. Cut it in half for a pretty sandwich, or into fourths for tea sandwiches or marvelous little appetizers. Even open face can be lovely. My son just ran out the door with the last little bit of egg salad rolled up in a tortilla saying it was the perfect breakfast sandwich. What a great idea!
The lure of dying eggs for Easter is still just too hard to resist, it’s so much fun. But please don’t wait until you have a refrigerator containing brightly colored eggs to make your own Perfect Egg Salad – it’s a wonderful treat anytime. Enjoy!
Ingredients
5 or 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cooled (makes 4 sandwiches)
1 stalk celery, minced
3 Tbsp chopped green onion (about 2)
1 Tbsp sweet pickle, chopped, plus 1 tsp pickle juice
2 tsp chopped fresh dill (or ¼ tsp dried)
Optional: 2 tsp chopped parsley
Optional: 1 Tbsp capers
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Toasted bread and lettuce for sandwiches
Directions
Chop eggs. (I cut mine in half, then fourths and chop into small bits, just don’t mash them.)
Add chopped eggs to a mixing bowl and add celery, green onion, pickles and juice, dill, parsley, and capers.
Gently stir in mayonnaise and salt and pepper.
Taste for seasonings.
*Keeps 3 days in the refrigerator.
