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Revamping Egg Salad: A Bright Spring Inspiration

Why This Approach Works

The technique of pressing peeled hard-boiled eggs through a wire rack or whisking them provides an impeccable texture for egg salad. With the addition of crème fraîche, fresh dill, and quick-pickled red onions, this spring-inspired egg salad bursts with flavor, making it a delightful choice for the season—or any other time of the year.

Egg salad often gets a reputation as a simple and familiar dish. While it’s undoubtedly satisfying and nourishing, it can sometimes feel less exciting. However, egg salad serves as a versatile base, much like deviled eggs, ready for creative experimentation. The reality is that egg salad closely resembles deviled eggs; it’s essentially the same mixture, just presented differently. By adopting the adventurous spirit typical of deviled eggs, we can transform our egg salad into something wonderful and engaging.

Spring Flavors Explored

To illustrate this point, I recently crafted a recipe for herby deviled eggs that captures spring’s essence through fresh tarragon, vibrant quick-pickled red onions, a hint of Dijon, and a dollop of crème fraîche for extra creaminess. This concept can seamlessly translate into a refreshing egg salad by substituting dill for tarragon while keeping similar ingredients in play, including the mayonnaise, crème fraîche, pickled onion, and Dijon.

The result is a refreshing and zesty dish, ideal for enjoying during the blossoming spring days, inspiring thoughts of blooming magnolias and vibrant tulips. Though this recipe caters to spring, its delightful flavors make it an excellent option all year round, inviting culinary creativity at any moment.

It’s worth noting that, similar to my deviled eggs recipe, the egg salad can be prepared solely with mayonnaise instead of crème fraîche. While the texture will be slightly denser without the add-in, you can compensate for the difference by incorporating a bit more acidity from the pickling liquid.

A Light and Refreshing Egg Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 hard-boiled large eggs, chilled and peeled
• 3 tablespoons (45 g) mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) crème fraîche (see notes)
• 2 teaspoons (10 g) Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon finely minced quick-pickled red onion plus 1 teaspoon (5 g) pickling liquid
• Kosher salt
• Sandwich bread and toppings (such as fresh lettuces), for serving

Instructions:

1. Set a wire rack over a medium mixing bowl and press the hard-boiled eggs through it. Alternatively, you can mash the eggs with a whisk until the whites break into small, chunky pieces.
2. Add mayonnaise, crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, dill, and minced pickled onion and pickling liquid. Stir everything together until it forms a creamy egg salad. Season with salt to taste.
3. Serve the egg salad on sandwich bread with fresh lettuce or as desired.

Notes

If crème fraîche is unavailable, you can replace it with an additional tablespoon of mayonnaise. In this case, adding a bit more pickling liquid might help to enhance the overall brightness of the salad.

Equipment Needed

A wire rack or a whisk will aid in the preparation of this dish.

Make-Ahead and Storage Tips

This egg salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, making it a convenient option for meal prep or impromptu gatherings.

Source
www.seriouseats.com