Devilled tuna egg sandwiches

Servings: 4
This combo is inspired by a Zaslavsky family classic, which almost always means ‘things from tins, heavy on the spices’. I’ve zhuzhed it up by keeping the boiled eggs a little runnier, so that the yolks add richness to our mayonnaise base, but if your eggs boil hard, just consider it ‘staying true to the original recipe’. The ‘devilled’ component here is in reference to de’ spicing rather than de’ stuffing, which I’ve unceremoniously usurped in favour of a chunky mix. I’ve made this more like a proper afternoon-tea sandwich with fluffy white bread, but you can use a dark rye, a gluten-free loaf, or even keep it as more of a salad by making the celery chunkier, chopping in cucumber slices and going heavier on fresh coriander.
PRINT

Ingredients 

  • 4 eggs at room temperature
  • 185 g (6½ oz) tinned tuna, drained
  • 2 long celery stalks finely chopped (the closer to the heart, the sweeter)
  • 1 French shallot finely chopped
  • ½ bunch of coriander cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped, plus extra to garnish
  • ¾ cup (185 g) Kewpie mayonnaise, or to taste — you do you
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp salt flakes
  • 2 tbsp butter softened
  • 8 slices soft white bread
  • 1 cucumber thinly sliced into ribbons

Instructions 

  • To boil the eggs, use a skimmer or slotted spoon to drop the eggs into a saucepan of vigorously boiling water (the spoon means it’s less ‘drop’, more ‘place’). Dial down the boil to more of a simmer and leave the eggs in there for 5 minutes. Scoop the eggs out with your skimmer or spoon and immediately run them under cold water. Once cooled, peel the eggs.
  • Place the tuna, celery, shallot and coriander in a bowl, together with the mayonnaise, curry powder and ground coriander. Use a masher to combine, being careful not to break up the tuna flakes too much. Add the peeled eggs and mash these in, too. Add the salt and check the seasoning; a bit of freshly cracked black pepper is good, too, if you’d like a bit more ‘devil’ in your eggs.
  • Butter the bread on one side. Spread the devilled egg mixture over half the slices, then top with the cucumber ribbons. Enclose with the remaining bread slices, cut into thick fingers and serve garnished with extra coriander.

Notes

Recipe appears in Better Cooking.

Related recipes