You’re either an egg salad person or you’re not. For me, egg salad sandwiches were one of the meals that I could actually handle eating during the first trimester of my current pregnancy. It helped me quiet the guilt of feeling like I wasn’t getting any of the essential nutrient dense foods I should eat during pregnancy. I find that egg salad is something that most kids like- either in a sandwich or alone. Then there are the people who will never like egg salad. Period. They probably won’t ever read this post anyway, so let’s move on!
Many people have strong opinions about exactly what ingredients make a proper egg salad. Some say eggs, mayonnaise, salt and pepper ONLY. Some believe you have to have additions like green onions, celery, olives, paprika, and even bacon. While I love trying different egg salad variations, especially those I just listed, I’ve created this recipe focusing on simplicity and nutrition.
Eggs are soooooo good for you. As far as macronutrients they have a perfect balance of fat and protein and offer highly beneficial cholesterol and omega-3 fatty acids. As far as micronutrients, eggs are high in vitamins A, D, E and K, “superstar carotenoids”- lutein and zeaxanthin, iron, phosphorus, potassium and calcium. Choline, another egg-nutrient, is a fatty substance found in every living cell and is a major component of our brain. Many, if not most, of these nutrients are present in the YOLK of the egg, so never eat the egg whites alone or you’ll be missing most of the nutrition.
*Of course I can’t recommend just any egg…you MUST always use eggs from organic, pasture raised hens, which not only offer better nutrition and protection from pathogens often present in commercial eggs, but will help save poor, abused hens stuck in the horror of commercial egg farming.
One element of this “perfect egg salad” is that I make it with a 30-second homemade mayonnaise. It really is so simple! Just dump your ingredients into a jar to blend and slowly add the olive oil to emulsify it into mayonnaise. Once you know how easy it is to make your own, you never have to eat the grocery store stuff again- which is typically made with soybean oil or canola oil, both highly processed vegetable oils I recommend staying far away from!
Another super nutritious element of my egg salad is that I use my own Homemade Lacto-Fermented Pickles. Check out that recipe post to learn more about the many wonderful benefits of making pro-biotic lacto-fermented foods at home. If you don’t like eating the pickles alone, or if you have a surplus of pickles, this recipe is a perfect way to use them and incorporate lacto-fermented foods into your family’s diet.
Ingredients
- 12 eggs (preferably from organic, pasture-raised hens)
- 1 cup Homemade Mayonnaise (see recipe below), plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup Homemade Pickles, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- salt
- 1 cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
Instructions
- Hard-boil your eggs by placing the eggs in a medium-large stockpot with enough water to cover the eggs. Place over medium heat and bring the water and eggs to a boil. Once the water is boiling, remove the pot from heat and cover for 12 minutes. Transfer the eggs using a slotted spoon to a bowl of iced water to cool. To peel the eggs, gently crack the shells all over the egg then find the little air pocket to get under the thin skin-like layer under the shell to easily peel the shell off in large pieces.
- Chop the hard-boiled eggs and place in a large bowl. (We like to use a egg slicer like this one.)
- While the eggs are hard-boiling, prepare this easy 30 second Homemade Mayonnaise: Place the egg, Dijon mustard, vinegar and a few dashes of salt in a wide-mouth mason jar or blender. Use an immersion blender (or blend in a standing blender) to whisk those ingredients, then begin to drip olive oil into the jar/blender while blending. Once the mixture begins to thicken, continue adding all of the olive oil in a steady stream until it turns into thick, fully-emulsified mayonnaise.
- To finish the egg salad, gently toss the chopped eggs, pickles, green onions and a liberal amount of salt and pepper in the large bowl, then fold in enough mayonnaise to coat the ingredients (as much as you like). Season, as needed, with salt and pepper and serve alone, on fresh sourdough bread (try my homemade sourdough bread recipe), on a lettuce leaf, or however else you like to eat egg salad.
