This egg salad sandwich has become a staple not only for its deliciousness but also for the ease in which it comes together. A stovetop steaming method makes for eggs that peel like a dream. And a simple dressing — celery, scallions, mayonnaise, and pickle juice — makes for fast assembly.
This post is about egg salad and about my recent gratitude for it. But before we get there: An Ode to the Scallion.
Long ago as a budding cook, I was taught to prep scallions as such: trim off and discard the hairy end, thinly slice the white and light green parts only, discard the remaining greens.
Imagine my surprise, years later, when the chef I found myself working for at Fork in Philadelphia used every inch of every scallion that entered the building. The hairy stems went into the stockpot. The whites, light greens, and dark greens all were thinly sliced, sometimes on the bias, and used in nearly every salad we made: chicken, potato, grilled mushroom, asparagus-endive, edamame-radish. The scallions provided not only a much welcomed and appetizing color but also: flavor.
And this is what always blows my mind about the scallion: its ability to behave as both allium and herb, its ability to offer both flavor and color.
It’s almost as if when a recipe calls for both red onion and chives or garlic and parsley, you could simply use scallions. Not perfectly, not always, but in a pinch, right? More and more, I use this swap even when I’m not in a pinch.
What’s more, by nature, scallions are very low-maintenance, often very clean (unlike leeks, which could be a scallion’s older, very dirty sibling), but easy to wash if necessary. And unlike onions, garlic, and shallots, all of which require peeling, scallions don’t. The scallion’s small diameter, moreover, makes it very easy to cut, no fancy knife skills required, no extreme concentration demanded.
Scallions for President? Wait! There’s more.
For me, rarely can there be too many scallions. I can’t say the same about onions and garlic. And unlike chives, which seem to start deteriorating as soon as you lift them off the produce shelf, scallions keep well for weeks (as long as you snip away any bands holding the bundle together).
Friends: is there anything not to love about a scallion?
About This Egg Salad…
… where has it been all my life? This obsession all started because my mother asked me on the phone one day: Have you tried steaming your eggs yet? Kenji’s method for steaming hard-boiled eggs is perfect. The shells slip right off.
No, but seriously, for the easy-to-peel benefit, I resisted trying another method, but it turns out — shocker! — my mother was right: Steamed hard-boiled eggs peel like a dream. And though I haven’t timed each method start-to-finish, my hunch is that the stovetop steaming method is even faster than the Instant Pot.
With all of my steamed eggs, I made a somewhat classic egg salad with loads of scallions, a generous amount of diced celery, and a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise. And, inspired by this cashew dressing recipe , which my friend Liane of Foodie Digital introduced me to, I used pickle juice, an underutilized ingredient I always have on hand, as the acid.
You certainly can use vinegar or fresh lemon juice in its place, but there is something really satisfying about dipping a measuring spoon into the pickle jar and extracting the juice — free goodness!
This time of year, when I often feel like an evening taxi driver, ferrying to and from the ice rink, dropping off and retrieving children with each run, I feel so grateful for things like the broccoli salad I obsessed over last month and this egg salad. Knowing that, during these busy few hours, I have a hearty, nourishing, protein-rich salad on hand, which, in the case of the egg salad, I can slather between two slices of bread with a handful of sprouts and call dinner done is immensely comforting.
I hope you find it so, too.
PS: No Tuna “Tuna” Salad (another great salad to have on hand for meals throughout the week.)
How to Make an Egg Salad Sandwich
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients.
Steam eggs for 10 minutes.
Transfer to an ice bath to cool briefly.
Then peel. This method is brilliant: the eggs peel right off.
For the salad, you’ll need to dice 1 stalk of celery, which, depending on its size, will give you a heaping third cup. And you’ll need to slice 4 to 6 scallions, whites and green parts.
Add them to a bowl along with 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 2-3 tablespoons pickle juice.
Stir to combine.
Coarsely chop the eggs and add them to the bowl.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir to combine.
Meanwhile slice some bread. Pictured below is this recipe made with all bread flour.
Top half with egg salad.
Top with sprouts.
Close sandwich. Cut in half and serve immediately.
Equally delicious on the peasant bread :
Description
Notes:
Egg steaming method adapted from J. Kenji Lopez Alt’s The Food Lab . I steam my eggs for 10 minutes as opposed to 12, and I find that to be perfect. It may take some trial and error to get the timing right for you. If you like to use your Instant Pot, here is my Instant Pot hard-boiled egg recipe.
I find 1 large celery stalk yields about a heaping 1/3 cup of diced celery. I use all of it. I like celery. Use more or less to taste.
Pickle Juice: This is a recent discovery and underutilized ingredient in my kitchen. If you don’t have pickled on hand, you can use vinegar or fresh lemon juice in its place. I would start with a tablespoon of vinegar and, if using lemon, maybe 2 teaspoons to start. As always, add more to taste.
6 eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup or more diced celery, see notes above
6 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens, see notes above
2 to 3 tablespoons pickle juice, see notes above
sea salt, such as Maldon, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
For the sandwich:
- 4 slices of bread, such as peasant bread , simple sourdough , gluten-free peasant bread
- a few handfuls of sprouts or tender lettuce such as Boston or Bibb or mesclun
- Place a steamer basket into a large pot. Fill pot with 1 inch of water. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Remove the lid. Carefully place the eggs into the steamer basket. Cover the pot. Steam for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice and cover with water. After the ten minutes. remove the lid, and carefully transfer the eggs to the ice bath.
- Meanwhile: make the dressing. Place the mayonnaise, diced celery, sliced scallions, and 2 tablespoons of pickle juice in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Peel the eggs; then roughly chop them. Add them to the bowl of dressing. Season with a big pinch of sea salt and pepper to taste. Use a large spoon to toss the chopped eggs with the dressing. If you like a more finely chopped egg salad, use the back of a fork to crush the eggs to the desired consistency and texture.
- Taste. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Add another tablespoon of pickle juice if you like a sharper dressing. Add a spoonful more mayonnaise if you like it richer. You can store the egg salad in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- To make the sandwiches: lay the slices of bread on a board. (If the bread isn’t fresh, consider lightly toasting it.) Spoon half the egg salad onto one slice of bread. Spoon the remaining half onto another. (Note: These are large sandwiches. Use less egg salad for a smaller sandwich.) Top the egg salad with sprouts or lettuce. Top with another slice of bread. Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
This egg salad sandwich has become a staple not only for its deliciousness but also for the ease in which it comes together. A stovetop steaming method makes for eggs that peel like a dream. And a simple dressing — celery, scallions, mayonnaise, and pickle juice — makes for fast assembly.
This post is about egg salad and about my recent gratitude for it. But before we get there: An Ode to the Scallion.
Long ago as a budding cook, I was taught to prep scallions as such: trim off and discard the hairy end, thinly slice the white and light green parts only, discard the remaining greens.
Imagine my surprise, years later, when the chef I found myself working for at Fork in Philadelphia used every inch of every scallion that entered the building. The hairy stems went into the stockpot. The whites, light greens, and dark greens all were thinly sliced, sometimes on the bias, and used in nearly every salad we made: chicken, potato, grilled mushroom, asparagus-endive, edamame-radish. The scallions provided not only a much welcomed and appetizing color but also: flavor.
And this is what always blows my mind about the scallion: its ability to behave as both allium and herb, its ability to offer both flavor and color.
It’s almost as if when a recipe calls for both red onion and chives or garlic and parsley, you could simply use scallions. Not perfectly, not always, but in a pinch, right? More and more, I use this swap even when I’m not in a pinch.
What’s more, by nature, scallions are very low-maintenance, often very clean (unlike leeks, which could be a scallion’s older, very dirty sibling), but easy to wash if necessary. And unlike onions, garlic, and shallots, all of which require peeling, scallions don’t. The scallion’s small diameter, moreover, makes it very easy to cut, no fancy knife skills required, no extreme concentration demanded.
Scallions for President? Wait! There’s more.
For me, rarely can there be too many scallions. I can’t say the same about onions and garlic. And unlike chives, which seem to start deteriorating as soon as you lift them off the produce shelf, scallions keep well for weeks (as long as you snip away any bands holding the bundle together).
Friends: is there anything not to love about a scallion?
About This Egg Salad…
… where has it been all my life? This obsession all started because my mother asked me on the phone one day: Have you tried steaming your eggs yet? Kenji’s method for steaming hard-boiled eggs is perfect. The shells slip right off.
No, but seriously, for the easy-to-peel benefit, I resisted trying another method, but it turns out — shocker! — my mother was right: Steamed hard-boiled eggs peel like a dream. And though I haven’t timed each method start-to-finish, my hunch is that the stovetop steaming method is even faster than the Instant Pot.
With all of my steamed eggs, I made a somewhat classic egg salad with loads of scallions, a generous amount of diced celery, and a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise. And, inspired by this cashew dressing recipe , which my friend Liane of Foodie Digital introduced me to, I used pickle juice, an underutilized ingredient I always have on hand, as the acid.
You certainly can use vinegar or fresh lemon juice in its place, but there is something really satisfying about dipping a measuring spoon into the pickle jar and extracting the juice — free goodness!
This time of year, when I often feel like an evening taxi driver, ferrying to and from the ice rink, dropping off and retrieving children with each run, I feel so grateful for things like the broccoli salad I obsessed over last month and this egg salad. Knowing that, during these busy few hours, I have a hearty, nourishing, protein-rich salad on hand, which, in the case of the egg salad, I can slather between two slices of bread with a handful of sprouts and call dinner done is immensely comforting.
I hope you find it so, too.
PS: No Tuna “Tuna” Salad (another great salad to have on hand for meals throughout the week.)
How to Make an Egg Salad Sandwich
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients.
Steam eggs for 10 minutes.
Transfer to an ice bath to cool briefly.
Then peel. This method is brilliant: the eggs peel right off.
For the salad, you’ll need to dice 1 stalk of celery, which, depending on its size, will give you a heaping third cup. And you’ll need to slice 4 to 6 scallions, whites and green parts.
Add them to a bowl along with 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 2-3 tablespoons pickle juice.
Stir to combine.
Coarsely chop the eggs and add them to the bowl.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir to combine.
Meanwhile slice some bread. Pictured below is this recipe made with all bread flour.
Top half with egg salad.
Top with sprouts.
Close sandwich. Cut in half and serve immediately.
Equally delicious on the peasant bread :
Description
Notes:
Egg steaming method adapted from J. Kenji Lopez Alt’s The Food Lab . I steam my eggs for 10 minutes as opposed to 12, and I find that to be perfect. It may take some trial and error to get the timing right for you. If you like to use your Instant Pot, here is my Instant Pot hard-boiled egg recipe.
I find 1 large celery stalk yields about a heaping 1/3 cup of diced celery. I use all of it. I like celery. Use more or less to taste.
Pickle Juice: This is a recent discovery and underutilized ingredient in my kitchen. If you don’t have pickled on hand, you can use vinegar or fresh lemon juice in its place. I would start with a tablespoon of vinegar and, if using lemon, maybe 2 teaspoons to start. As always, add more to taste.
6 eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup or more diced celery, see notes above
6 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens, see notes above
2 to 3 tablespoons pickle juice, see notes above
sea salt, such as Maldon, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
For the sandwich:
- 4 slices of bread, such as peasant bread , simple sourdough , gluten-free peasant bread
- a few handfuls of sprouts or tender lettuce such as Boston or Bibb or mesclun
- Place a steamer basket into a large pot. Fill pot with 1 inch of water. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Remove the lid. Carefully place the eggs into the steamer basket. Cover the pot. Steam for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice and cover with water. After the ten minutes. remove the lid, and carefully transfer the eggs to the ice bath.
- Meanwhile: make the dressing. Place the mayonnaise, diced celery, sliced scallions, and 2 tablespoons of pickle juice in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Peel the eggs; then roughly chop them. Add them to the bowl of dressing. Season with a big pinch of sea salt and pepper to taste. Use a large spoon to toss the chopped eggs with the dressing. If you like a more finely chopped egg salad, use the back of a fork to crush the eggs to the desired consistency and texture.
- Taste. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Add another tablespoon of pickle juice if you like a sharper dressing. Add a spoonful more mayonnaise if you like it richer. You can store the egg salad in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- To make the sandwiches: lay the slices of bread on a board. (If the bread isn’t fresh, consider lightly toasting it.) Spoon half the egg salad onto one slice of bread. Spoon the remaining half onto another. (Note: These are large sandwiches. Use less egg salad for a smaller sandwich.) Top the egg salad with sprouts or lettuce. Top with another slice of bread. Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Notes:
Egg steaming method adapted from J. Kenji Lopez Alt’s The Food Lab . I steam my eggs for 10 minutes as opposed to 12, and I find that to be perfect. It may take some trial and error to get the timing right for you. If you like to use your Instant Pot, here is my Instant Pot hard-boiled egg recipe.
I find 1 large celery stalk yields about a heaping 1/3 cup of diced celery. I use all of it. I like celery. Use more or less to taste.
Pickle Juice: This is a recent discovery and underutilized ingredient in my kitchen. If you don’t have pickled on hand, you can use vinegar or fresh lemon juice in its place. I would start with a tablespoon of vinegar and, if using lemon, maybe 2 teaspoons to start. As always, add more to taste.
6 eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup or more diced celery, see notes above
6 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens, see notes above
2 to 3 tablespoons pickle juice, see notes above
sea salt, such as Maldon, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
For the sandwich:
- 4 slices of bread, such as peasant bread , simple sourdough , gluten-free peasant bread
- a few handfuls of sprouts or tender lettuce such as Boston or Bibb or mesclun
- Place a steamer basket into a large pot. Fill pot with 1 inch of water. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Remove the lid. Carefully place the eggs into the steamer basket. Cover the pot. Steam for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice and cover with water. After the ten minutes. remove the lid, and carefully transfer the eggs to the ice bath.
- Meanwhile: make the dressing. Place the mayonnaise, diced celery, sliced scallions, and 2 tablespoons of pickle juice in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Peel the eggs; then roughly chop them. Add them to the bowl of dressing. Season with a big pinch of sea salt and pepper to taste. Use a large spoon to toss the chopped eggs with the dressing. If you like a more finely chopped egg salad, use the back of a fork to crush the eggs to the desired consistency and texture.
- Taste. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Add another tablespoon of pickle juice if you like a sharper dressing. Add a spoonful more mayonnaise if you like it richer. You can store the egg salad in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- To make the sandwiches: lay the slices of bread on a board. (If the bread isn’t fresh, consider lightly toasting it.) Spoon half the egg salad onto one slice of bread. Spoon the remaining half onto another. (Note: These are large sandwiches. Use less egg salad for a smaller sandwich.) Top the egg salad with sprouts or lettuce. Top with another slice of bread. Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2021/02/18/egg-salad-sandwich/
About a year ago to the day, the whole world began baking bread. And as the loaves emerged, the questions followed.
In all of my years of blogging, I have never answered more questions on a single subject. And while I couldn’t always get to the bottom of why a loaf of bread didn’t turn out as expected, these various exchanges always taught me something, helped me better understand the technical aspects of the bread baking process.
Answering these questions also confirmed:
- Bread still hasn’t shaken its high-maintenance reputation. The fact that it took being locked up at home for so many people to give bread baking a go, shows that this misconception persists: bread baking requires a lot of time and attention, requires being confined for hours on end to pull off successfully.
- Baking bread continues to fill people with a sense of joy and accomplishment . Pulling a loaf of freshly baked bread out of the oven never fails to inspire wonder. Bakers derive as much happiness from baking a loaf of bread as giving one away.
To help position bread-baking as a less needy undertaking — a constant goal of mine — and to encourage people to bake on even as the world opens up, I thought I’d share are some of the tips and ideas I’ve found myself reiterating time and again this past year.
10 Tips for Bread Bakers
- The refrigerator is your best friend. The biggest tip I have for the many people who still feel they can’t work bread-baking into their very busy schedules is to use the fridge. At any point of the bread-baking process — after you mix the dough, after it’s made one rise, after it’s made two rises, after it’s been shaped and transferred to its baking vessel — bread dough can be transferred to the fridge, and it can hang out there for a long time (days even, depending on the dough). Note: Dough should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge to ensure a crust does not form on the dough.
- A scale continues to be essential. I once only felt strongly about using a scale for flour and other dry ingredients, but I now encourage bakers to weigh everything — the flour, salt, liquids, etc. Using a scale ensures you are following a recipe precisely. It also allows you to troubleshoot and make adjustments in a meaningful way.
- A big part of making a good loaf of bread comes down simply to using the right amount of salt given the amount of flour you are using by weight . It’s like anything: bread has to be well seasoned. At a minimum, use 10 grams of salt for every 500 grams of flour. (I like to use more.)
- A big part of making good bread comes down simply to using the right amount of water given the amount of flour you are using by weight . Depending on the flour you are using and your environment, and depending on the type of bread you are making, the appropriate amount of water will vary. And it may take some trial and error to get right. A scale will make the trial and error process go more quickly.
- If you get #3 and #4 right, you’re 80% of the way to making a great loaf of bread.
- Be nimble: there is no foolproof bread recipe. Try as I might over the years to make bread baking as foolproof as possible, I’m realizing it’s a lost cause. What works for me in my environment, might not work for you, even if we are using the exact same brands of ingredients and the exact same measurements. Moreover, what works for me perfectly one month, may not work perfectly the next. As the seasons change, flours change, environments change. You have to go into bread baking with a willingness to make adjustments even to the recipes you are closest with . A scale makes adjusting easy. I am constantly tweaking my bread recipes, changing ratios, playing with different methods, and I encourage others to do the same.
- Focaccia , yeast-leavened or sourdough , is the best bread recipe for beginners, for a few reasons, namely: it requires no special equipment, it requires no tricky shaping technique, it requires no scoring. With focaccia, if you have a 9×13-inch baking pan and your finger tips (for dimpling), you’re good to go.
- Sourdough can be simple and delicious and made without an autolyse or preferment or levain. My biggest tips for having success with sourdough include: It starts with your starter . Be sure it is strong and active before mixing a loaf of dough. Use a straight-sided vessel to ensure your dough does not over ferment during the bulk fermentation. Stop the bulk fermentation when your dough has increased in volume by 50-75% (as opposed to when it doubles). Cold proof for at least 24 hours before baking.
- Stop buying commercial whole wheat flour. If nutrition is the goal, there is little point in using commercial whole wheat flour. To truly add a boost of nutrition to your breads, use stone-milled flours. ( Read more about stone-milled flour here. ) Keep in mind, the more stone-milled flour you use in your breads, the less light and airy the crumb will be. Keep in mind, too, a little stone-milled flour goes a long way in terms of imparting flavor, color, and aroma.
- A simple trick for getting a more open crumb? It’s all in the shaping. Instead of shaping a round, shape a batard . I have no idea why this works, but it does. Watch the video below:
Friends what have you learned about bread baking this year? I’d love to hear your biggest revelations or tips or advice for other bread bakers.
PS: Why is My Sourdough So Sticky? 4 Common Sourdough Mistakes
PPS: Find all of my favorite bread recipes right here → Favorite Bread Recipes
