Easter Stuffed Eggs

Stuffed (or "deviled") eggs are one of the great culinary treats: the richness of the eggs blended with a vast variety of ingredients...herbs, fish, and pickled anything. The only rule is that any addition must be light or subtle enough to allow the egg to shine through. To me, "stuffed" eggs are those with the most subtle flavors - like salmon or curry - while "deviled" eggs are more spicy - stuffed with ham, pickles, even jalapenos, for instance. For Easter this year, I'm doing eggs with smoked salmon, curry, and pickle relish.

Place the eggs in a pot with plenty of water.Bring to a boil. Remove the pot from heat and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a cold water bath -- a bowl of water with a lot of ice. When the eggs are done, scoop them out of the pot with a slotted spoon and place in the ice water. Cool them for at least 15 minutes (longer won't hurt). The purpose of the ice bath is to prevent the unpleasant green or gray ring around the yolk that can sometimes form.

After the eggs have cooled completely, remove the shells. Halve lengthwise and remove the yolks.
At this point, you can (a) mash the yolks and other ingredients with a fork (b) puree the yolks and other ingredients in a blender or food processor, or (c) put yolks and other ingredients through a sieve. This depends partly on what your other ingredients are and what you want from your stuffed eggs. For instance, if you are making what I consider the classic "deviled" eggs -- adding mayonnaise, a dab of French's mustard, and pickle relish -- you would mash with a fork to preserve the integrity of the pickle relish. If you are stuffing with salmon, you might want to blend or sieve some of the salmon into the yolk and then add a strip of salmon on top. Putting it through the sieve would preserve a little more of the distinct flavor and texture of the salmon. Blending would give you a salmon-flavored yolk.

For a really nice presentation, put the stuffing into a piping bag and swirl into the halved whites. Or just scoop into the whites with a spoon. A sprinkling of paprika or cayenne is traditional and gives a nice color contrast and flavor boost. Another topping of some kind is nice, too. Here is what I have planned: fresh dill atop the smoked salmon, a dab of chutney atop the curry, a strip of pimiento atop the pickle relish.