{easter} Purple Tea Eggs (and a Great Deviled Eggs Recipe)

I had a fun Easter. It was a gorgeous day in Oakland, the first downright HOT day we’ve had in forever.  So what did I do?

I was inspired to combine the technique of soaking peeled eggs in beet juice to turn the whites purple (an idea I got from VeggieVenture) and the technique of making Chinese Tea Eggs. So I boiled the eggs, then cracked their shells a bit and soaked them in the beet juice for about 2 hours.

They looked aMAAAAzing when they came out, with soft spidery lines of purple, but unfortunately faded within about an hour! I think next year I will go with the full-on purple egg whites thing, and forget the fancy crack-a-lacking action. Although, I really hate beets so the beet juice thing was grossing me out. I did get a laugh because the store was playing that 80s song “We Got The Beat” while I was buying the cans of beets. I was singing “I Got The Beets… everybody… I Got The Beets… in a caaaaan…”

Anyhow, after that grossed out-excited-disappointed emotional parabola, I dyed eggs with my niece and nephew. Pretty!

Then I made deviled eggs out of the beet eggs, and some of the dyed eggs. I mixed it up this year and tried some new stuff and everyone said they were better than usual. Here’s the recipe!

RECIPE: DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients:

• hard boiled eggs
• mayonnaise
• whole grain mustard
• tabasco (optional)
• chopped parsley
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

• Peel hard-boiled eggs and cut them in half. Remove the yolks to a bowl.
• Mash yolks with a fork until crumbly. Add mayo a bit at a time until the eggs are just bound together.
• Add whole grain mustard to taste. For 12 eggs, I added about 1 tablespoon. Salt and pepper liberally.
• Add chopped parsley (about 1 tablespoon for 12 eggs.)
• Add a few splashes of tabasco if desired, depending on how much kick you want to give it.
• Taste and adjust seasoning. Using a spoon, fill the centers with a dollop of yolks.
• Sprinkle plate with parsley and grind pepper over the eggs.