Another winner of a recipe from Mindy Fox’s Salads: Beyond the Bowl book. I’m taking a little bit of liberty with this recipe, however, because I cook eggs differently than Mindy does. She prefers to prick a hole in the larger round end of the egg and then put it in the water and bring it to a boil, then let stand for 10 minutes. I don’t bother with that. However, we both shock the eggs in ice water after they’re done to stop the cooking. It keeps the yolks nice and yellow. Other than that, the recipe is all Mindy’s.
I served it with crispy pancetta and toast.
Egg Salad with Lemon, Capers and Chives
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons capers, preferably salt-packed
1 lemon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
1/8 teaspoon piment d’Espelette or cayenne pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid bowl. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Boil the eggs for exactly 9 minutes, then remove to the ice water. Peel the eggs and chop them.
Meanwhile, rinse the capers and soak them in cold water for 10 minutes. Rinse again and coarsely chop.
Finely grate the zest of the lemon into a bowl, then juice enough of the lemon to make 1 1/2 teaspoons. Add to the bowl, along with the mayonnaise, chives, capers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and the piment d’Espelette. Stir together gently to combine.
Serve with lettuce, bread, pickled onions and cornichons, if desired.
