I woke up today craving an Egg Salad Sandwich.  I was never of fan of them growing up especially as my mum never made them so the only time I would have occasion to eat them was when I was at sleep away camp or at Brownies when one of the mother’s would bring a snack.  The sandwich inevitably ended up on soggy bread and the texture of the mushy eggs just didn’t appeal to me.

One day when I was in University and opened the fridge to make something to eat, I had nothing but eggs and bread and a handful of other ingredients and thought to give an egg salad sandwich a try.  The key for me was to reduce the amount of mayo and leave the eggs a little more chunky.  I’ve been a fan of egg salad sandwiches ever since and have a few variations I like to experiment with every now and again.

What I’ve discovered over the years is that the key to a good egg salad sandwich rests 90% in the boiling of the egg.  I stumbled across an article in a newspaper years ago on the trick to boiling eggs and it’s worked for me ever since.

Egg Salad Sandwich

4 large eggs
1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
A squeeze of lemon juice
2 stalks celery, washed and diced finely
a bunch green onions or chives, chopped (you may also use dill)
lettuce
4 slices whole grain bread, toasted (I use gluten-free bread when I make the sandwich for myself and have even been known to stuff the salad mixture into a taco shell in a pinch)

Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Once rolling gently, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for seven minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water when done and let sit in the ice bath for three minutes or so (we are stopping the cooking process with the ice-bath). Crack and peel each egg, place in a mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise, and salt and pepper. Mash the eggs with a fork. Don’t overdo the mashing, you want the egg mixture to have some texture. If the egg mixture is too dry, you may add additional mayo.

Stir in the celery and herbs of your choice.

To assemble: place lettuce on a piece of toast, top with the egg salad mixture, and finish by creating a sandwich with a second piece of toast.

Variation: I’ve also tried an open faced egg-salad sandwich. Broil a thin slice of your favorite cheese on toast, top with egg mixture sprinkled with sauteed chopped shallots and crumbled bacon.