START TO FINISH: 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 4
This egg salad, inspired by a recipe from “In My Kitchen” by Deborah Madison, is made without mayonnaise. Instead, three of the 12 cooked egg yolks are mashed to a paste with onion-infused vinegar, then mixed into coarsely chopped eggs to lightly bind the salad. The flavors are fresh and bright, and the salad is especially delicious served with rustic dark bread.
Don’t steam the eggs for longer than 9 minutes. The eggs should be just shy of hard cooked. If cooked past that point, the yolks will be too firm to form a smooth sauce when mashed with the vinegar. Don’t finely chop the eggs; we liked the salad with eggs that were in coarse, uneven bits.
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
12 large eggs
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ cup finely chopped fresh tarragon
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Lemon wedges, to serve
Flaky salt (such as Maldon Sea Salt Flakes)
In a small bowl, stir together the onion, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt; set aside. Fill a large Dutch oven with about 1 inch of water. Place a folding steamer basket in the pot, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high. Add the eggs, cover and steam for 9 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with ice water.
Immediately transfer the eggs to the ice water and let stand until cooled. Crack and peel the eggs. Cut 9 of the eggs lengthwise into quarters, then cut the quarters crosswise into thirds. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and gently toss. Halve the remaining 3 eggs and transfer the yolks to a small bowl; roughly chop the whites and add them to the bowl with the chopped eggs.
Set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl containing the yolks and pour the onion mixture into the strainer; set the drained onions aside. Using a fork, mash the yolk-vinegar mixture until smooth, then whisk in the turmeric.
Sprinkle the tarragon, chives and parsley over the chopped eggs and add the yolk mixture. Fold until just combined; do not overmix. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the reserved onions. Serve with lemon wedges and flaky salt.