Curry Chutney Egg Salad

Yes, Memorial Day has passed and summer is nearly here. There should be something seasonal and vibrant in the kitchen, or something sweet and celebratory. The Messy kitchen has been a bit dull, however, as I am still, slowly but surely, adapting to a new work schedule. That’s why the thing I’m excited about right now is egg salad.

This isn’t a boring egg salad, though, but one with a bit of sweetness and spice and that exotic dustiness of curry powder. It came from an idea in a magazine clipping to stir mango chutney into mayonnaise, and then use that to bind together a simple egg salad. I was afraid a sweet, gingery mango chutney would be a bit cloying all on its own, however, so I added the curry powder, some spicy mustard and a dash of hot sauce.

I found the balance in the recipe below to be very good. It’s flavorful and interesting without totally overpowering the eggs. If you don’t like eggs, or don’t really care about them shining in your sandwich, you could kick up the seasoning to make a spicier salad. You could also add more chutney if you like its fruity sweetness, or use a different exotic condiment in its place for a different flavor.

If you follow food news at all, you probably know that eggs might be a dear commodity in the not too distant future with the, shall we say, cleaning up of thousands of chickens potentially infected with avian influenza. This might just be the right time to seek out some clean local sources of eggs, many of which should be free range or at least cage free.

You could also make a chicken or turkey salad like this one, if that’s more to your taste, although the birds themselves will be becoming a bit rarer in the supermarket as well. Of course, if you prefer a vegan version, you could probably translate this recipe quite effectively into a chickpea salad like this one. Perhaps with all the poultry uproar right now, we’d be well off to make this into a winner, winner chickpea dinner after all. Just a thought.

Curry Chutney Egg Salad

Based on a recipe in Martha Stewart Every Day Food magazine

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons mango chutney

1 tablespoon spicy mustard

½ teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon hot sauce

¼ teaspoon coarse salt

A few grinds of black pepper

¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives

¼ cup finely chopped celery

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chutney, mustard, curry powder, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Serve on bread as a sandwich or on crackers or crostini.

Makes 4-6 sandwich-size servings.

Other recipes like this one: Lemon-Fennel Egg Salad, Chickpea Salad, Turkey Salad with Sherry Vinegar and Smoked Paprika