Sunday, March 14, 2021

Sabbat Series: Ostara - The Recipe



"ab ova usque ad mala”—literally from eggs to apples, or from the beginning of a meal to the end.

Devilled Eggs

Origin: Recipes similar to this have been found as early as Ancient Rome. They go by many names including stuffed eggs, dressed eggs and, Russian eggs ad different versions hale from many countries. I really wish I would have done my origin research first as the devilled eggs I know and love a pretty boring compared to some of the extravagant stuffed eggs from around the world. I will definitely be doing some more testing and I hope you'll come along with me! Stuffed eggs made there way to the states by the mid 19th century

The devilled eggs you are used to are definitely not where stuffed eggs began. One of the earliest mentions of using mayonnaise was in the, "Boston Cooking-School Cookbook," by Frannie Farmer. However, mayonnaise wasn't  a common ingredient in the recipe until 1940's despite the fact that it was commercially available in 1907.

The now widely accepted ingredients for the filling are eggs yolks, mayonnaise, mustard and paprika. Of course there's nothing stopping you from sprucing them up with anything from green onion or garlic powder to the more "exotic" sriracha or pickled herring.

The term devilled started in the 18th century first found written in 1786. It simply refers to a recipe that is zesty or spicy. Other well known foods with this prefix are devilled ham and fra diavolo (an Italian sauce.)

In the states the spelling differs slightly with only a single "l" and specifically in the Southern and Midwestern States you will more commonly heard them referred to as seasoned or dressed eggs (or so Wikipedia tells me.)

Ingredients

6 eggs, hard-boiled and cooled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp prepared mustard (Dijon is a nice choice but yellow works just fine)
1 green onion (more to garnish if you want*)
salt and pepper, to taste
paprika, for garnish

Tools

a bowl
a fork
a spoon (or two) or

optional: piping bag with or without tip

Directions

You're going to start by peeling your hard boiled eggs.

** Pro tip** add a little baking soda to the water while you boil and you'll have less trouble peeling and there for prettier eggs

Cut the eggs in half lengthwise

**Pro tip** run your knife under hot water between cuts and you'll get less yolk stuck and nicer cuts

Gently remove the yolks from the whites and place them on your bowl. You can do this with a spoon but i find just gently squeezing the white dislodges the yolks and then they're easy to take out with your fingers. I find the whites rip less with this method too.

Using your fork mash the yolks and then slowly add in your mayo, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix until the mixture is smooth you can add more or less mayo if you want to change the consistency of the egg filling but I like mine a little on the thicker side.

Cut your green onion very thinly on the bias (on the diagonal) and mix it in to your yolk mixture.

*If you want to also use as a garnish cut up two green onions and keep the greener ends as garnish and mix the rest into the egg mixture

Form here you can be fancy or not. I used a piping bag with a star tip to fill my eggs but you can just as easily use a spoon (plus your finger or another spoon.) Spread the filling evenly between your egg whites filling the hole where the yolk used to be.





Garnish as you like (with green onion, chives and or paprika) and serve.

 

Serving

For Ostara I will be serving them on a bed of spring greens probably for lunch. Traditionally though they are served as an hors d'ouvres. The idea of having them as an early course actually dates all the way back to Ancient Rome. They are also a fantastic addition to any pot luck or picnic. There really is no reason to serve them with anything but if you want to build a plate with them on it I would suggest picnic pair like cucumber sandwiches, green salad and three bean salad or with BBQ fare like burgers and hot dogs as a substitute for something like egg and potato salad.

The Short and Gritty

Ingredients

6 eggs, hard-boiled and cooled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp prepared mustard (dijon is a nice choice but yellow works just fine)
1 green onion (more to garnish if you want*)
salt and pepper, to taste
paprika, for garnish

Tools

a bowl
a fork
a spoon (or two) or

optional: piping bag with or without tip

Directions

1. Peel eggs
2. slice lengthwise
3. Remove yolks and mash them in bowl
4. Combine with mayo, salt, pepper and green onion (sliced thinly and diagonally)
5. Replace yolk mixture into egg whites
6. Garnish and serve

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