Egg Salad Sandwich

 

Whenever I see egg salad on the menu, I can’t help but think of the scene from Pee-Wee Herman, where Winnie tells Pee-Wee that she has made him “his favorite.”  The two are seated on a picnic blanket, cooing at one another.  But with each guess — fried chicken!, hamburgers, cheese sandwich, turkey a la king, vegetarian plate, shepherd’s pie — Winnie becomes increasingly upset, just as Pee-Wee becomes increasingly confused, until he confesses that he can’t think of anything else.  At which point, Winnie pulls a carefully wrapped egg salad sandwich from the picnic basket.

Pee-Wee takes the obligatory bite, chews it around, pronounces it “egg salad-y,” and then tosses it, Frisbee-style towards some playground equipment.

And Pee-Wee has a point.  I remember not liking egg salad myself — too often presented as an amalgam of over-cooked eggs and thick mayonnaise.  A veritable sandwich of egg excess.

This recipe is very different.  Instead of mayonnaise, I used the protein-rich Fage greek yogurt.  I’ve also placed a strict cooking time on the eggs, to keep the eggs from getting overcooked.  Mix with some fresh chives and diced celery, and you have a delicious recipe for egg salad sandwich.

Egg Salad Sandwich

Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 8 minutes
YIELD: 4 Sandwiches

WHAT TO GRAB:

6 large eggs
1-2 tablespoons non-fat Fage Greek Yogurt (or mayonnaise)
Salt and pepper
Juice of half a lemon
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 bunch chives, chopped

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Prepare a large bowl of ice water.  Meanwhile, place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so.  Sprinkle with about a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a gentle boil.  Now turn the heat off, cover, and let sit for nine minutes.  When the eggs are done cooking place them in the ice bath for at least three minutes.

2.  Crack and peel each egg, and place in a medium mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise or Greek yogurt, a couple generous pinches of salt and pepper, and then mash with a fork. Do not overdo the mashing; you want the egg mixture to have some texture. If you need to add a little more mayonnaise or yogurt to moisten up the mixture a bit, go for it a bit at a time.

3.  Stir in the celery and chives.  Season to taste.

4.  Toast your bread and assemble a delicious egg salad sandwich!