We call these ‘devilled eggs’ as Bibi did, but technically they’re not. For true devilled eggs, you remove then yolk from a hard-boiled egg, spice it and blend with mayonnaise, then pipe it back into the white. This is lovely, but time consuming and fiddly! Especially for a Simple Supper. Our version features medium-boiled eggs served with a very spicy mayonnaise. Not only is it super simple to make, but frankly we much prefer it!
The spicy mayonnaise is best made slightly ahead. The flavours will develop if you leave it to stand for an hour or so. And if you make too much, it will keep in the fridge for up to three days. It makes a nice condiment, especially with cold meat or salad. But if you’re short on time, you can make it and use immediately, it will still taste very good. The only essential is to roast the spices, not use them raw.
First roast your spice mix. What blend you use is a personal choice, and also depends on how spicy you like it. We like it spicy! Bibi originally made it, in the 1970s, with curry powder – individual Indian spices were not as readily available. But as whole ground spices became more popular, she mixed her own blend. We do too, but we still add a hit of curry powder for Emily’s childhood memory. And also because it works very well in this dish!
We use one scant teaspoon each of cayenne and ground cumin, plus one very generous teaspoon each of ground coriander and medium curry powder. Measure these together into a cup or bowl. Place a small frying pan over a high heat. When the pan is really hot – test it by putting your hand above – add the spices. Dry fry, stirring constantly, for a minute or two – the spices are ready when you can smell the scent. Put back into the bowl to cool.
Jake sticks his nose in
It’s important to roast the spices for this dish; it will release the oils and make them much tastier. Raw spices are also powdery and will give an unpleasant texture to your mayo.
You can now make the spicy mayonnaise that ‘devil’s’ the devilled eggs. Add a generous amount of mayonnaise to a mixing bowl, about two to three large tablespoons per person. We use a reduced fat mayonnaise to make this rich dish a bit lighter. Squeeze a little lemon into the mayo – we used half a lemon for a two-person portion. Add Dijon or English mustard to taste. We used a large teaspoon.
Add the spice mix, to taste. Start with one or two teaspoons, taste, then add more until you like it. We like our devilled eggs spicy, so today we used it all! Mix well, taste again, and adjust with any of the flavourings – you can also add more mayo if you’ve made the taste too strong.
Your spicy mayonnaise is done! Leave to stand in the fridge for about an hour, or longer. The flavours will develop and mellow over time.
About 10 to 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, get the eggs on to boil. Three halves of boiled egg makes a good portion per person for lunch or supper; two halves makes a good starter. Today we were cooking for two, so boiled three eggs.
You can hard boil the eggs, but we prefer them medium, with a set, but still soft, yolk. See our egg Tip for boiling times. Put cold water into a saucepan, and add the eggs. Always boil eggs from cold – see our Tip. Set over a high heat, and bring to a rolling boil. Start timing at this point – again see our egg Tip for detailed instructions and timings. Today we boiled for 5 minutes.
Jake sticks his nose in
You may wonder why there are 5 eggs in the picture, when we only needed 3. That’s because 2 of them are for me! Boiled egg is my favourite food, but I am only allowed it as a treat.
While the eggs are boiling, shred some lettuce. Today we used iceberg. Generally, we are not big fans of iceberg, as it doesn’t have much flavour. But it does have juice and crunch, and in this dish that’s the perfect foil to the rich devilled eggs. You could use any crunchy lettuce, however, like little gem or romaine.
Remove the outer leaves and cut out the core. Shred the lettuce lengthwise into medium strands. Divide between your plates to form a bed for the devilled eggs.
We like to serve our devilled eggs with bread and butter, though it is also nice with toast. Today we had crusty wholemeal rolls. Slice and butter the bread. When the eggs are done, you are ready to serve.
When the cooking time is up, drain the boiled eggs and plunge them into cold water. This will both stop them cooking further, and make them easier to handle. To peel the eggs, tap them all over on a plate to shatter the shell, then peel it off.
Jake sticks his nose in
Some eggs are easier to peel than others. Ours today had thin shells, so were harder to peel. To make peeling easier, look for the membrane that lies just under the shell – if you can peel under this, the shell will come off in larger pieces.
Halve the eggs, lengthwise, then place on top of the bed of lettuce.
Top the eggs generously with the spicy mayonnaise.
Enjoy!
Leave a Reply