Ensalada de Huevo - Spanish Egg Salad
This post is sponsored by The American Egg Board
The week following Easter is National Egg Salad Week, a delicious solution for leftover deviled or hard-boiled eggs, or simply a great excuse to whip up a batch. Whether served as an appetizer or entree, I love cooking with eggs, and hard-boiled eggs are so versatile. They’re a tasty addition to salads or as garnishes (I especially like them with roasted asparagus) and are the perfect nutritional package, with each egg providing 6 grams of protein and no sugar or carbs.
While it may sound like you'll need an exotic pantry to make this egg salad inspired by the flavors of Spain, the key ingredients are simple - extra-virgin olive oil, fresh parsley, garlic and salt. Aceite de ajo y perejil (olive oil with garlic and parsley) is a traditional Spanish sauce that adds a punch of flavor to dishes. Try it drizzled over grilled seafood or steak, as a marinade or dressing, and tossed with pasta or roasted vegetables. I also use it to dress crowd-pleasing egg tapas, so it’s a natural addition to egg salad.
Combined with mayonnaise, this flavorful sauce adds an herbal zest to egg salad, and its familiar ingredients also marry beautifully with any type of leftover deviled eggs, such as some of my favorites:
Ensalada de Huevo - Spanish Egg Salad
Ingredients:
6 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
¼ cup of homemade or store-bought mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons of aceite de ajo y perejil
1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon of pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
Whisk the lemon juice, mustard, paprika, and parsley sauce into mayonnaise until smooth. Combine with the chopped eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To make the aceite de ajo y perejil:
1 cup of parsley leaves
3 chopped garlic cloves
2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Mince parsley and garlic in a food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper. It can be as fine or chunky as you like. With the motor running, gradually add in the olive oil. Taste and season with more salt and pepper to taste (I like to use smoked paprika sea salt). Store it in an airtight jar for up to two weeks. When serving, bring to room temperature and give it a stir.
Tips:
For a foolproof and easy-peel method of cooking hard-boiled eggs, look no further than this link from the American Egg Board. Over the years I’ve experimented with old eggs versus fresh eggs, adding vinegar to the water, and poking a pinhole in the shell, and no recipes have been as fast and easy as my new favorite method. I simply steam them for 12 minutes in a pot with a steamer insert and then transfer to an ice bath. The shell slips off easily and the eggs are cooked to a perfect golden yolk. Guaranteed, every time.
If using leftover deviled eggs, simply chop and toss with aceite de ajo y perejil to taste.
In addition to sandwiches, this egg salad makes a company-worthy dish as a topping for crostini and garnished with sliced radishes (homegrown) and smoked paprika.
It can also be served on cucumber rounds, sliced tomatoes, or mounded on vegetables or fresh greens drizzled with aceite de ajo y perejil (here I've used mizuna and lettuce from my garden) for a healthy salad. In fact, eggs help the body absorb the nutrients in raw vegetables.
This post has been sponsored by The American Egg Board