(Mayo-Free) Deviled Eggs

As their name implies, this classic appetizer can be devilishly delicious or hellishly horrid. It all depends on the quality of the three main ingredients: the pickles, the mustard, and most importantly the eggs. I also prefer to make deviled eggs sans mayonnaise or with homemade mayonnaise — the jiggly white stuff you buy in the store has zero resemblance to actual fresh mayonnaise. (The latter ought to be egg yolk whisked with unrefined oil and a splash of lemon juice or vinegar. Simple, delicious, and versatile; add a knifetip of minced garlic, and you have aioli.) When I made these eggs, I opted for the easy route and drizzled in just enough extra-virgin olive oil to create a spoonable consistency.

Deviled eggs are ideal party appetizers since you can prepare them a day ahead and unveil them as soon as the first guest walks in. And leftover eggs make a fantastic breakfast!

(Mayo-Free) Deviled Eggs
This makes enough for 8 deviled egg halves. Feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed.

4 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
3-4 dill pickle spears (I adore McClure’s Garlic & Dill pickles, so I always use those), minced
1 T. capers
1/2 tsp. to 3/4 tsp. mustard, depending on how hot your mustard is and how much you like mustard (I prefer German-style mustard that’s smooth and medium-spicy)
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sweet paprika for garnishing

Place the eggs in a medium pot and fill the pot halfway with water. Cover the pot, put it on the stove over high heat, and keep an ear perked for the sound of the lid starting to rattle as the water comes to a boil. As soon as you hear that, turn the heat down to medium, keep covered, and simmer the eggs for 10 minutes. You may wish to add a splash of vinegar to reduce the likelihood of the eggs getting foamy and boiling over. (I skip the vinegar and take my chances.)

When the 10 minutes are up, put the pot in the sink and run cold water into it until you can comfortably reach into the water. Hold the eggs against the pot while you pour out all of the water. Refill with ice-cold water and let the eggs sit in the water until they’re cool enough to touch. Cooling them promptly and thoroughly will prevent the yolks from discoloring. At this point, you can dry them off and keep them in a bowl in the fridge for a week if you like — hard-boiled eggs come in quite handy.

Lightly tap the eggs on a hard surface and then peel off the shells. (Note: if the shells are difficult to peel away, congratulations! You have very fresh eggs indeed.) Cut each egg in half the long way and pop the yolk into a mixing bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork until fluffy, then stir in pickles, capers, mustard, and lemon juice. Taste a bit to see if you’d like to add more mustard or lemon juice. Drizzle in just enough oil to make the mixture spoonable.

Arrange the egg white halves on a nice plate, fill each one with the yolk filling, and sprinkle paprika over the tops as garnish.

Enjoy!

Deviled Eggs with Avocado & Paprika

Some people won’t eat them because they’re green.  Some people like to eat them because they’re green.  Some of us wouldn’t care if they were striped with orange and purple and accented by yellow polka dots — we eat avocadoes because they’re delicious.  No other vegetable, fruit, grain, nut, or even dairy source can match an avocado for smooth creaminess.  Its perfect blend of sweetness and refreshing green-ness makes it an ideal companion for any dish:  on salads, in wraps, chunked into soups, mashed into dips, even blended into puddings and ice creams.

You can also use avocado in place of mayonnaise — not only does it taste better, it’s much better for you.  Layer a sandwich with slices of avocado instead of mayo.  Make deviled eggs by smashing hard-boiled egg yolks with lemon, avocado, mustard, and perhaps a bit of dill-pickle relish.  Make a salad dressing out of mashed avocado thinned with lemon juice and buttermilk.  (Just add freshly-snipped herbs and cracked peppercorns for a “ranch” flair.)

The only tricky part about using avocadoes is knowing when they’re ripe…and even that’s not too difficult to figure out.  Next time you’re near a display of avocadoes, notice how the skins differ in color — some are medium-green, some are darkish-green, and some are purple-green.  Lightly squeeze a few of them.  The purplish ones will be very soft (if they almost burst when you pick them up, they’re too ripe) while the medium-green ones will be rock-hard.  If you want to use the avocado right away, choose one that’s purplish and soft but without bruised spots that almost give beneath your fingers.  If you don’t want to use the avocado for several days or maybe even a week, choose one that’s rock-hard and leave it out on the counter to ripen.  In either case, if your avocado seems ready to use and you don’t want to use it that day, just stick in the refrigerator — that will retard its ripening process and keep it ready-to-use for another three or four days.  You can also store cut avocadoes for a few days if you wrap the halves securely in plastic wrap.  (Store the half with the pit.)  Just shave off the browned surface before using.

Another interesting thing about avocadoes:  their name stems from ahuacatl, which means “testicle” in Nahuatl, an indigenous Aztec language still spoken in Central Mexico.  Perhaps avocadoes should have been the original Forbidden Fruit!