Chipotle Deviled Eggs

Chipotle Deviled Eggs became another dish added to my list of “What Can I Add Chipotle Chile To and Not Ruin?” Not only were the eggs not ruined, they were so good that this will be the only way I make deviled eggs from now on.

Chipotle Deviled Eggs

• 1 dozen hard-boiled eggs

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise, preferably homemade

• 1 tablespoon seeded, finely minced chipotle chile with adobo sauce

• salt to taste

• cilantro leaves and ground paprika for garnish

Halve eggs and carefully spoon out yolks. With the back of a spoon, press yolks through a sieve. This step is worth doing, as it results in a very smooth yolk mixture.

Blend sieved yolks with mayonnaise, minced chipotle chile and salt. Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into egg white halves. For piping, use a pastry bag and a large star tip — I used an 11 mm. sized tip. You might be rolling your eyes at this suggestion. I know — sometimes a recipe can be too tedious. If piping egg yolks is not your bag (bad pun!) your deviled eggs will be just as good if the yolk is spooned, not piped. All piping does is make the deviled eggs look fancy, but sometimes the plate is emptied so quickly, it doesn’t matter, anyway.

When yolk mixture is divided evenly among egg halves, garnish with a cilantro leaf or two and a dusting of ground paprika. Chill until ready to serve.

Here is where I am missing a photo. The FIFA World Cup game between Japan and Denmark had already started, and I didn’t want to miss the beginning. In my haste, I missed an opportunity to snap a picture of our lunch plates. Your imagination can make up for my haste. Picture a white plate piled high with romaine lettuce and radicchio leaves that have been tossed with homemade blue cheese dressing. Around the salad on each plate are four Chipotle Deviled Eggs and eight slices of very ripe, very red tomatoes. A cool lunch for a hot day. Japan won, 3-1.

Notes:

A fail-proof way to hard-boil and peel eggs: Put eggs in cold water in a covered pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the water reaches a boil, turn down the heat to the lowest possible setting and set the timer for 9 minutes (this is the time for sea level; if you live at a higher elevation, increase the time accordingly). As soon as the time is up, drain the pan and place eggs in a bowl of ice water with 3-4 ice cubes. Immediately take out the eggs one at a time, crack the shells on the counter and return to the ice water. As soon as the eggs are cool enough to handle, start peeling them, leaving the remaining eggs in cold water while you peel. If an egg is difficult to peel and the shell does not want to come away from the egg, put it back in the bowl and peel it under water. The peeled eggs can stay in the cold water until cool.

Low cooking heat results in a tender yolk and the timer prevents sulfurous eggs. Even eggs that cook a few minutes too long can have an unsavory green-gray color on the outer yolk. I’m asking for trouble if I try to cook hard-boiled eggs without a timer.

If you are fortunate enough to have freshly laid eggs, they will not peel easily until they are at least three days old.