Earth Day Picnic: The Deviled is in the Details

While we have already spent some time on Easter and Passover here on ES, I thought I would spread some love to Earth Day and in particular Picnic for the Planet. This year on April 22nd, in addition to all sorts of Earth Day activities and media stories about kids planting trees on your local news, people across the world are being encouraged to go outside and eat. Picnic for the Planet has organized community picnics in cities throughout the world to get people outside. Heavyweights such as as Mario Batali and Alice Waters have already voiced their support by publishing picnic-appropriate recipes and PSA’s.  I assume my invitation to share recipes was lost in the mail so I decided to just share them here on ES.

I have a complicated relationship with deviled eggs. When they are good, they are divine and when they’re bad, I have to eat a few to confirm my initial opinion. They always take some time to prepare but are simple enough that they  pop up at every picnic and spring gathering  before disappearing quickly. Bite sized, tasty, and with limitless variations, here are a few ideas to spring you into action.

Basic Deviled Egg Recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
3 Tbs mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tsp stone ground mustard
1/4 tsp salt

Cut in half. Toss egg yolks into a bowl, and mash with a fork. Stir in ingredients and then fill egg whites with the egg yolk mix.

Curried Devil Eggs:

Prepare eggs as above but when preparing yolks, halve mustard and add 1 tsp homemade curry powder. If you don’t have any, follow proportions below to make some and store the extra:

3 tablespoons sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground fennel seed, 2 teaspoons ground yellow or brown mustard, 2 teaspoons ground red pepper, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 1 tablespoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Pickled Onion and Horseradish Deviled Eggs:

Prepare eggs as above but when mixing yolks, omit mustard and instead add 1 tsp drained horseradish sauce. You can attempt making your own but I never have because I rarely use it. Toss some pickled red onion on top right before serving.

Fire and Smoke Deviled Eggs

It almost seems too boring these days but I still love the heat and smoke chipotles in adobo sauce can bring to any dish. Omit the mustard again because it will be overpowered anyway. Add a finely diced chipotle pepper and 1 tsp adobo sauce to the yolk mixture. You can also get similar taste  without staining your fingers by using diced jalapenos and a nice smoked salt or some crumbled bacon instead.

Salmon-Wasabi Deviled Eggs:

This almost doesn’t count as a deviled egg anymore but they are my favorite and I would feel guilty not including them on this list. Prepare eggs as above but when mixing yolks omit mustard and add finely diced smoked salmon and 1 finely diced shallot. After placing filling in egg, add snipped dill and some wasabi powder on top.

(Photo: Robert Scoble)