But it’s never too late to change your mind: These
are the devils that got me. Thanks to Virginia Willis, a French-trained chef
with strong Southern roots, there’s a whole lot of care and technique in this
recipe, starting with the eggs being perfectly cooked. Technically, the eggs
aren’t hard-boiled, but rather hard-cooked (that is, left alone
for 12 minutes in just-boiled water). The goal is to cook the yolks just enough
to be firm—chalky, green-tinged yolks will only live on in our sad lunchroom
memories. Willis’s method results in yolks that are good and yellow, fluffed up
with just enough condiments to go silken and loose. There is no overdosing on
sweet, vinegary mayonnaise, no chunky pickle relish to mar the texture.
There is a secret ingredient, however: butter. Just
a tad. It rounds and smooths over the more acidic ingredients, turns the filling
creamy without overtaking it, and, as Willis says, “renders people unable to use
the sense God gave a cat to stop eating.”
Makes 24
12 large eggs (at least a week
old, if possible, for easier peeling)
⅓ cup (75g)
mayonnaise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at
room temperature
1 tablespoon Dijon
mustard
Pinch of cayenne
pepper
Coarse salt and freshly ground
white pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh
tarragon, chives, or chervil, plus leaves for garnish
1 To hard-cook the eggs, place them in a saucepan and
add water to cover by 1 inch (2.5cm). Bring just up to a boil over high heat
(you will see bubbles around the sides of the pot). Remove from the heat, cover,
and let stand for 12 minutes. Drain the eggs and rinse them under cold running
water. Set aside to cool completely.
2 To peel the cooked and cooled eggs, remove the shells
by tapping each egg gently on the counter or sink all over to crackle it. Roll
an egg between your hands to loosen the shell. Peel, starting at the large end,
while holding the egg under cold running water; this facilitates peeling and
also removes any stray shell fragments.
3 To prepare the filling, halve the peeled eggs
lengthwise. Carefully remove the yolks. Set the whites aside. Pass the yolks
through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, or place them in a food processor
fitted with the metal blade. Blend the yolks, mayonnaise, butter, mustard, and
cayenne, and mix until smooth; season with salt and white pepper. Add the finely
chopped tarragon.
4 Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a
large star tip or a medium sealable plastic bag with one of the corner tips
snipped off. When you are ready to serve, pipe the yolk mixture into the whites.
Garnish with additional herbs and serve immediately.
TO MAKE AHEAD: Unpeeled hard-cooked eggs can be
refrigerated for up to 1 week. Or prepare the eggs, but don’t assemble, up to 8
hours in advance of serving; refrigerate the whites covered with a damp towel in
an airtight plastic container. Store the egg yolk mixture in the piping bag with
the tip also covered with a damp paper towel. Knead the yolk mixture slightly to
soften before filling the whites. The eggs may also be assembled and stored
covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours. Any longer and the yolk mixture
starts to form a crust
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