Caramelized Shallot Egg Salad

Here’s the game plan today. We’re going to take our basic egg salad recipe and spruce it up with some caramelized shallots. We’ll balance all the richness out with a squeeze of tangy mustard, throw it on a sandwich with fresh greens, and that’s lunch!

So, let’s get to it!

We’ll start with the shallots. We’re going to take a couple shallots, thinly slice them, then slowly cook them in a heavy bottom skillet in some olive oil and a little salt and pepper until they’re deep and golden in color. That’s all there is to it.

I’ve recently learned that I was making a big mistake when it came to caramelizing onions/shallots. I used to use a non stick skillet, and they just never got to that perfect jammy stage. They’d go from light brown to burnt, and that’s not what we want out of a caramelized allium. But then, I learned that a heavy bottom skillet was the trick. Cast iron, stainless steel, aluminum…some kind of skillet that could really retain the heat is the key to successful caramelized onions. So, now my new favorite pan to use is an enamel coated cast iron skillet. You get the heat retention from the cast iron, but the easy to clean feature thanks to the enamel.

Once the shallots are caramelized and cool enough to handle, we’ll chop them up and throw them into a bowl. The other components of our egg salad are simple…mayonnaise for creaminess, dijon mustard to cut the richness, salt and pepper for seasoning, and that’s it. Mix everything together, and get ready to drop in the eggs.

We’ve talked about this many times before, and there are so many “fool proof” claims out there to the perfect hard boiled egg. And all of the cooking times and methods are completely different. But  I can truly say that my method has never steered me wrong. Start the eggs in a pot of cold water, bring it to a boil, set the timer for 10 mins once boiling, then transfer the eggs straight to an ice bath for exactly 2 mins. Get the eggs out of the ice water, and the shells come right off. AND, you’ll have a perfectly bright yellow yolk from your perfectly hard boiled egg. Dice the egg, toss it around in the shallot mayo mix, and that’s egg salad!

This egg salad is decadent. Between the sweet shallots, the fatty mayo, and the rich eggs; this egg salad really benefits from some brightness to balance it out. I really like serving this on a sandwich with some crunchy spring greens mix and some whole wheat toast. But as always, serve the egg salad how you like it.

Ok, everyone. I feel like the adventures of deviled eggs and egg salad have just begun. I have a deviled egg recipe coming up soon that’ll make you wanna slap yo mama. But don’t do that though…that’s not nice!

Okie dokes! I hope you guys enjoy. And, let’s eat!