the thin chef

Easter when I was young usually meant a trip to West Palm Beach to visit my mom’s aunt and uncle, new dresses (sometimes with lacy gloves or white woven hats), patent-leather mary janes, backyard egg hunts, dyeing eggs in vinegary water, peanut-butter eggs, Cadbury eggs, robin’s eggs (candies), and deviled eggs.

Eggs are the most common archetype of Easter, I think. They symbolize spring, renewal, (re)birth, and all that. We often ate deviled eggs at family functions all throughout the year, but for some reason, they still remind me of Easter. I do love the classic, with mayo and a touch of mustard, dusted with paprika, and served cold from the fridge. But when I let my mind wander, I started to think of the delicious combinations that could take deviled eggs from 1960s picnic staple to 2010 Easter dinner worthy. (Am I the only one who daydreams about making deviled eggs more interesting? Surely not…)

I landed on two I thought sounded the best. The first is just the classic, jazzed up: smoked paprika gives the filling a nice smoky depth, and smoked sea salt lends a tiny crunch on top. The second, my new personal favorite, blends bright green basil and lemon zest with just a touch of Dijon for a springy, flavorful take on the sometimes ho-hum classic.

Deviled Eggs Two Ways
makes 24 deviled eggs
I like the filling to be mounded on top, so I boil 1 extra egg for every 6, keeping the yolk and discarding the white. Older eggs are easier to peel, so if at all possible, buy your eggs about 4 days before you need them. If you prefer one of these flavors over the other, just double the add-ins for that flavor and omit the others.

14 organic eggs
1/3 cup low-fat or regular mayonnaise, divided

For the Smoked Paprika Eggs:
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Smoked sea salt (or other coarse salt)

For the Lemon-Basil Eggs:
1/4 cup fresh roughly chopped basil
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Flake sea salt (or other delicate salt)

Place eggs in a large stockpot and fill with cold water until the eggs are covered by about 2 inches. Cover, and place over high heat. When water boils, turn off the heat. Remove pot from hot burner (if you have an electric cooktop). Set a kitchen timer (or watch the clock) for 14 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. After the eggs are cooked, carefully transfer them from the hot water to the ice water. Let eggs cool.

When cool, lightly tap eggs on the countertop to crack shells, and peel. Cut eggs in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Place two medium bowls on the counter. Gently pop the yolks out of each white half, putting 14 yolk halves into one bowl and 14 into the other. Discard 2 whole whites, and set remaining whites on a tray or plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

In the first bowl, add half of mayo and the smoked paprika. Use a fork to mash and stir the mixture until it’s smooth and uniform. Set aside. Place the yolks from the second bowl into a mini food processor. Add remaining mayo, basil, Dijon, and lemon zest. Process until basil is finely chopped and mixture is smooth and creamy. (Alternately, finely chop the basil and mash with a fork as described above.) Return basil-lemon filling to the second bowl. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To serve, spoon filling into the white halves. To be fancier, spoon fillings into 2 plastic zip-top bags, then cut a hole in one corner. Use it as you would a piping bag and pipe the filling into the whites. Sprinkle the paprika eggs with smoked salt and the basil eggs with big flakey salt. Serve cold or at room temperature.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 2:54 pm and is filed under basic techniques, comfort food, do-ahead, vegetarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.