Egg Salad on Rye
Two textures of egg in the same bowl — some mashed, some chopped — which is what stops it being a paste.
Egg salad turns into wallpaper paste when every egg gets the same treatment. Mashing two of them and chopping the rest gives you something that binds and still has pieces in it.
Rye because it is sturdy enough to hold up and sour enough to push back. Soft white bread makes the whole thing one texture again.
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 4 | eggs |
| 3 tbsp | mayonnaise |
| 1 tsp | Dijon mustard |
| 2 | spring onions, sliced thin |
| 1 tbsp | capers or chopped pickle, drained |
| 4 slices | rye bread |
| — | salt and plenty of black pepper |
Method
- Lower the eggs into already-boiling water and cook nine minutes. Straight into cold water afterwards.
- Peel them under a running tap. The shell comes away in sheets instead of chips.
- Mash two of the eggs with the mayonnaise and mustard until it is smooth.
- Chop the other two into rough pieces and fold them in, along with the spring onion and capers.
- Salt, and more pepper than looks right.
- Onto the rye, thick, and eat it within the hour.
Notes
- Nine minutes gives a yolk that is just set. Twelve gives the grey ring and a drier salad.
- Fresh eggs peel badly. Week-old eggs are what you want, which is the opposite of the usual advice about eggs.
- It keeps a day in the fridge and the texture goes; make what gets eaten.
Questions
Yoghurt instead of mayonnaise?
It works and it goes watery by the second hour. Use it if the sandwich is being eaten immediately.
Can I make it the night before?
You can. It will be softer and wetter, and the chopped pieces will have given up their edges.
What else goes in?
Celery for crunch, dill for the smell, curry powder if that is the household you grew up in. All three are traditional somewhere.