Someone pointed out to me a few weeks ago that this site has not a single recipe in the archives for egg salad. Could anything be more uninspired than an amalgamation of smashed-up hard-boiled eggs and the dreaded mayonnaise?
I mean, have you seen the yellow, flavorless mounds of dubious origin and assembly date most delis scoop onto a slice of bread and try to pass off as lunch? It would hardly make an enthusiast out of you. Or anyone. But for those of us who see past the lack of beauty-queen stature and fervor around it, we know egg salad can be rather delicious if made properly, which is to say, at home, with perfectly cooked eggs and just enough dressing to cling, not drown them.
At home, I make three small additions that I think transform it from the unglamorous status-quo to something I find crunchy, bright and absolutely perfect on a slice of whole-grain toasted bread in the middle of the day. The first is that I love to use coarse, or whole-grain Dijon mustard. The second is finely minced shallot, just a little. You could use red onion, too, but I think the texture is key. You want it to be noticeable enough that you enjoy it but not so loud that it upstages the star, kind of like surprise guests at a halftime show.
No, no way. I talked about my love of this a bit in the book , where I put it on a fingerling salad with a sharp dressing but I promise, once you make it, it has a habit of showing up everywhere, from chopped to tuna salads.
It adds a little accent and crunch, and once you fall in love with it here, it will be impossible to make it any other way, so consider yourself warned.
