Polish egg salad spread with chives: creamy, not dry, no grey ring on the yolk
A spread of eggs boiled for exactly nine minutes and chilled at once, so the yolks stay creamy without a grey ring and the shells come off cleanly. Chopped with a knife, not blended, with mayonnaise, a touch of mustard and plenty of chives. For sandwiches, devilled eggs, a party table.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Eggs boiling 15 min
- Cooling in cold water 5 min
- Chopping and mixing 10 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneBoil the eggs for exactly 9 minutes
Put the eggs in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. From the boil, cook 9 minutes over low heat. Not 12, not 15: longer cooking makes the grey ring around the yolk and a sulphurous smell.
Ingredients: 6 pcs eggs · 3 tbsp mayonnaise · 1 tsp mustard · 1 bunch chives · ½ tsp salt · ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
TipEggs straight from the fridge crack in boiling water. Take them out 15 minutes ahead, or start from cold water, as here.
Nine minutes from the boil, no longerChill at once
Drain and cover with cold water, ideally with ice, for 5 minutes. Sudden chilling stops the cooking and loosens the white from the shell, so peeling goes smoothly.
Iced water, the shells slip offPeel and chop
Peel the eggs, dry them and chop with a knife into small dice. Don't blend or grate: the spread should have texture, pieces of white and creamy yolk, not a uniform paste.
Small dice with a knife, not a pasteMix
Add the mayonnaise, mustard, chopped chives, salt and pepper. Mix with a fork. Creamy but not swimming in mayonnaise; if dry, add another spoonful.
TipThe mustard is the secret: you don't taste it, but the spread stops being bland. Don't skip it.
Mayonnaise, mustard, chivesServe
Serve on bread with a lettuce leaf and radish slices. It keeps covered in the fridge for 2 days. For devilled eggs: instead of chopping, halve the eggs lengthways, mix the yolks with the same additions and spoon the mixture back into the white halves.
Ingredients: 4 pcs bread or rolls · 4 pcs radishes · 4 pcs lettuce leaves
On bread with lettuce and radish
Before you start
Lighter
Half mayonnaise, half Greek yogurt. A little sharper, much lighter.
Extras
A spoon of finely chopped onion scalded with boiling water; diced pickled cucumber; a teaspoon of horseradish; a spoon of chopped dill instead of chives.
With homemade mayonnaise
A yolk, a teaspoon of mustard, a teaspoon of lemon juice and 150 ml oil added in a thin stream. Egg spread with homemade mayonnaise is in a different league. Note: homemade mayonnaise means raw yolk — don't serve it to young children, pregnant women or older people; for them use pasteurised eggs or shop-bought mayonnaise.
