I got my original deviled eggs recipe from the old Joy of Cooking cookbook. When that one wore to pieces, and I got a new version for Christmas, I saw they didn’t have that same recipe and was disappointed. I cobbled together a replacement using all the adaptations I had been making from before and am now putting this recipe on my blog so I have it for future reference.
And it’s so that you’ll have it too. It’s all for you.
Of course, these are really stuffed eggs because deviled eggs have Tobasco sauce in them and these don’t. In French, deviled eggs are called oeufs mimosa. Mimosa eggs. In our house, they’re just called très bon.
Take 12 eggs, because these are the kinds of things you make for a party. Take them out of the refrigerator an hour before so they’re less likely to crack. Did you know that in France the eggs in the supermarket are not refrigerated? (I do put them in when I get them home, unless there’s not enough room, in which case they stay out for another day or two). Milk is not refrigerated either until it’s opened. That’s because it’s pasteurised and hermetically sealed.
Anyway. Bring the water to a boil and put the eggs in and cook them for 10 minutes. Put them in cold water to make peeling them easier.
Cut in half and remove the yolks from each half.
You’ll want to sauté a small shallot in butter to soften it like so.
Add the shallots to the egg yolks and then add the rest of the ingredients: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Blend it with an immersion blender (it’s really the most effective). There are still little shallot lumps, but the texture is quite uniform.
Then either spoon it into the egg whites or use a piping bag with a large tip.
And that’s it. Sprinkle paprika, not only for decoration, but because it adds flavour. When a troop of Hungarian teens stayed with us, they brought paprika, both spicy and regular. I assure you, paprika has a taste.
Incidentally, they also told me the flamingoes in the Budapest zoo were losing their pink color because they didn’t have those pink crabs to eat and so the zookeepers added paprika to their food. And lo and behold – they turned pink again. (Don’t shoot the messenger, dear animal lover. I’m just saying what they did).
- 12 eggs
- 1 small shallot, cooked in a tablespoon of butter
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- paprika for garnish
- Bring water to the boil and cook the eggs for 10 minutes.
- Put the eggs in cold water to cool, then peel them.
- Cut the eggs in half and remove yolks.
- Mince the shallot and sauté in butter until brown.
- Combine the yolks, shallot, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and salt and blend with an immersion blender.
- Put the yolk mix in a piping bag and pipe or spoon into egg shells.
- Sprinkle with paprika and store in refrigerator.
This is a really savoury version of deviled eggs, but it blends well with the bland egg white. There are never any left in our house.
I’ve not been around a lot this month, but I’ve been doing pretty great, actually. Feeling much better than I have since last fall (it’s been a hard year). We’re leaving soon for Bretagne, then the US, then Switzerland, with only a few days in between each trip. I plan to work on my book in Brittany and get as much of it done as possible. I’ll want to spend time at the beach with family, of course, but it’s so rare to get uninterrupted time away from everything. I want to make the best use of this time and finish my book.
The school year is almost over. (It is over for my junior high kids), but William is still trudging along to school each day. The concerts and festivals and dinners and outings are over. PHEW!
I’ll post pictures from our vacation, not with any great regularity, but in good faith.
Happy Fourth of July!
