Eat Well: WWW's Eggcellent Adventure

The following post was written by my mom, WWW. Thanks mom!

My first post with GGC, almost two years ago, was about eggs. (Wow! I can’t believe it’s been almost two years!) With Easter and Passover just around the corner, it seemed a good time to continue the conversation about this sumptuous symbol of spring holidays.

In my previous post, I talked a great deal about finding eggs that are humanely and sustainably raised. To briefly reiterate, look for PASTURE fed eggs if you want to ensure that you are getting the best eggs—organic, cage free, and even free range labeling means nothing. Eggs are a bargain at any price. And besides the ethical reasons, buying eggs from happy chickens makes all the difference in taste and nutrition, worth every penny of the $2-3 dollar extra that you pay per dozen. Always check up on the farm that produces your eggs. Higher price is not a guarantee of humane practices.

Eggs are probably our most versatile food because of the very specific chemistry of egg protein. You can boil them, fry them, scramble or poach them. You can whip the whites to make meringues or soufflés or use the yolks to make rich and creamy sauces. Eggs turn ice cream into gelato and pudding into mousse. Combining them with milk creates creams and custards.

Cooking with eggs requires a few tricks of the trade. Egg protein is very sensitive to heat; too much heat and you can get a hard rubbery mass or a curdled cream. Eggs should never be boiled or cooked on high heat at all according to Harold McGee, foremost authority on the science of cooking. So how do we cook hard-boiled eggs for the holidays? Don’t boil them! Follow these instructions and you will end up with perfect hard-cooked eggs.

Tips for hard-un-boiled eggs

1. Start with eggs that are 1-2 weeks old if you want to be able to peel them cleanly. (Fresh egg whites stick to the inner shell and tear when you peel.) If you buy your eggs now, they will be ready by Passover and Easter.

2. Gently lower eggs into a large pot of water. (I use a slotted spoon for this so the eggs don’t break.)
3. Quickly bring the pot JUST to a boil.
4. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the eggs sit for 10-12 minutes (if you boil an extra egg, you can test it for doneness.)
5. Chill eggs quickly in ice water to prevent the yolk surface from turning green.
6. To shell eggs cleanly, crack egg all over and start peeling from the wide end, carefully pulling the membrane and shell.

Tip: And if you're decorating eggs for Easter, never boil them in an iron or aluminum pot or the color won’t stick.

Now the question is…what to do with all of those leftover eggs!? I love to eat hard-cooked eggs just plain. Of course you can devil them or make egg salad, both great ways to use them. You can make Niçoise or Cobb salads. In the middle of brainstorming for this post, I suddenly had a memory of my grandmother sharing with me, 35 years ago, her recipe for curried eggs. I dug through my recipes and sure enough there it was, hidden away and forgotten, an Anglo version of an Indian curry (my grandmother was from Yorkshire). You make a béchamel sauce (white sauce), add some curry and sautéd onion, some eggs, and voila!

This was traditionally served on toast “points.” It turns out that there is a history associated with “Hindu eggs” or “Curried eggs” in England but in no way do these recipes resemble true Indian curry. And today, with our more sophisticated tastes and exposure to great Indian food, we know what curry tastes like. Our stores are now stocked with the necessary ingredients and we don’t have to fudge like our grandparents and great-grandparents did. Frankly, the thought of eating eggs in white sauce doesn’t sound appealing to me at all. But finding this recipe made me smile as I thought about my beloved grandmother who lovingly shared with me all of her favorite recipes. It also inspired me to make a real curry with hard-cooked eggs. I made the “cream” for this curry out of pureed raw cashews, my new favorite thickener. You can substitute with yogurt but the cashews add a delicious sweetness and added protein to the dish. This sauce is delicious over vegetables, also.

Egg Curry

¼ cup cooking oil

½ t cumin seeds

½ t black mustard seeds

2 onions, sliced

1 jalapeño or Anaheim chile, chopped

1 T grated fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, grated

3-4 vine ripened tomatoes pureed in a blender (2 cups) (or 2 cups canned pureed tomatoes)

2 teaspoons garam masala

2 teaspoons coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¾ cups water

½ cup RAW cashews

¼ cup yogurt (optional)

6 hard cooked and peeled eggs

A little lemon juice to taste

cilantro leaves for garnish

Heat oil in large pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds and cook until they sizzle and pop.

Add onion and cook until soft and brown.

Add chile and cook another couple of minutes. Add tomato puree and cook on medium high, stirring until the water has evaporated and the oil starts to separate from the paste.

Add the spices and cook a couple more minutes.

Puree the cashews with ½ cup water until it forms a smooth, thick paste. Add to curry. Add more water if needed or yogurt.

Peel hard cook eggs, cut in half, and put into curry, covering them with the sauce. Gently heat through. Serve over rice with cilantro garnish.

Note: I like the garam masala flavor with the cashew cream but you can replace it with curry powder or turmeric if you want. If you want to make this into a vegan dish, add sautéd cauliflower in place of the eggs and don’t add the yogurt. Enjoy!

Love,

WWW