So Easter is coming and you’re hard at work dying all those hard boiled eggs…but come Sunday afternoon, what the huevos are ya gonna do with all of those cooked yolks and whites??!!
Before you get out the mayo to mix yet another batch of potato or egg salad, read on for some OTHER ways to use your HBE’s
Pear Tart Linzer Style
Dough:
1C walnuts or almonds, lightly toasted
½ C sugar
1 ¾ C flour
1 t cinnamon
1 t grated lemon zest
½ t sea salt
1/8 t ground cloves
2 hard-cooked egg yolks, crumbled
1C cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
2 raw egg yolks
½ t vanilla paste
Filling:
4 C peeled, cored, sliced pears
6 T flour
1 C cranberries (fresh or frozen)
½ C sugar
To finish:
1 egg yolk
¼ C cream or whole milk
Dough:
In a food processor, pulse walnuts and sugar to a sandy texture. Add the flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, salt, cloves, and crumbled hard-cooked egg yolks. Pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the dough starts to come together and looks clumpy. Add the raw yolks and vanilla and pulse until well combined. The dough will be sticky and moist-cookie dough consistency.
Cut the dough in half (each piece should be about 12-3/4 ounces), set each half on a large piece of plastic, and shape each into a flat disk, using the plastic to help you flatten. Wrap each disk in its plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Tart:
On a floured work surface, roll each disk of dough into an 11-inch round about ¼ inch thick. Put one round on a plate and refrigerate, uncovered. Fit the other round into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Fold the excess dough into the sides of the pan and press to get an edge flush with the top of the pan, about 1/3 inch thick. Sprinkle 2 T of the flour on the bottom of the tart and spread to evenly cover. Toss the pears and cranberries with the remaining ¼ C flour. Arrange the fruit in the tart shell so that the pears lie as flat as possible and there are some berries showing on top. Scrape any remaining flour over the fruit and sprinkle with the sugar.
Take the other piece of dough from the refrigerator and cut it into eight 1-inch-wide strips and place them, evenly spaced, over the top of the tart. Then, on a sharp diagonal to the first four, set the other four strips on top, so that the overlapping layers make diamond shaped windows. Trim the ends of the strips and press them into the edges of the tart.
Bake:
Position an oven rack on the bottom rung. Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with foil and set it on the rack. Heat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the egg yolk with the cream or milk. Brush the tart’s lattice top with the egg glaze. Bake on the baking sheet until the pastry is golden brown, 45 min. to 1-1/4 hours. Let cool on a rack for 1 hour and serve slightly warm.
Mimosa Dressing
1 large egg, hard boiled
Artisan Bibb lettuce, sliced in half
2T lemon juice
1T Dijon mustard
Ground pepper to taste
Celtic sea salt to taste
¾ C extra-virgin olive oil
2T parsley, chopped
1T shallot, minced
In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice and mustard. Add salt and pepper and then whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream. Stir in the parsley and shallot.
Peel the egg and mash the yol and white separately through a fine sieve. Stir the sieved egg into the dressing and taste for seasoning. Arrange two lettuce wedges on each of six large salad plates and spoon the dressing over them. Serve chilled.
Veggie Pate
4 T unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 thyme sprigs
5C baby bella mushrooms, diced
2C shiitake mushrooms caps, diced
Freshly ground black pepper
Celtic sea salt
½ C dry sherry
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t lemon juice
¼ t lemon zest
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Chives, for garnish
Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, salt, pepper; cook, on high heat stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and golden and the liquid they release has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the pan, until almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and cool to room temperature.
Transfer half of the mushroom mixture to a food processor. Add the walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, zest, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining mushroom mixture and the eggs.
Season to taste with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve on top of crostini or in a bowl, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with flaky sea salt and chives.
How long DOES it really take to get it HARD?!!
*take your eggs out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before boiling them
*bring the water to a gentle boil, and gently place the eggs in one at a time, leaving plenty of room for the eggs.
*be sure the eggs are completely submerged
*In Denver-11 minutes is the perfect HBE.
Having a hard time peeling that sucker out of it’s shell?
Few tips:
-Tone it down-don’t have your eggs cook at a raging boil…just a slow, rolling hot bath
-Accessorize-add a little baking soda to your cooking water
-Chill-shock the eggs in ice water right after they’ve finished cooking for an easy peel
More HBE ideas:
*Smoked Salmon (or smoked trout) deviled eggs
*“Steak and Eggs” salad, with gorgonzola
*Deep fried potato skins with crab and (yes) egg salad
Now, off to Passover Seder…Chag Pesach Sameach!!
