Beet-pickled eggs are a treat for the senses. Not only are they delicious, adding shredded beets to the pickling liquid imparts a lovely pink hue and a subtle earthiness to the egg. You could definitely move these in a more deviled eggs direction if you wanted, but that's quite a bit of extra work, and we are NOT going to overcook the yolks, so they'll have a beautiful soft texture that doesn't need to be altered by lots of mashing and piping. Alternatively, you could also use store bought hard boiled eggs if you want to skip right to the pickling part, no judgement here.
BEET PICKLED EGGS
LARGE EGGS
(4? 8? THEY ARE GREAT SMASHED ON TOAST FOR BREAKFAST, SO... I LEAVE THAT ONE UP TO YOU). 1 FRESH BEET 2 CUPS WHITE VINEGAR 1 CUP WATER 1 TEASPOON OF KOSHER SALT TABLESPOON OF SPICES SUCH AS WHOLE CORIANDER, PEPPERCORNS, MUSTARD SEEDS, DILL SEEDS, ETC.
MAYO SWEET PAPRIKA MUSTARD POWDER ALEPPO CHILI FLAKES MALDON SEA SALT FRESH CELERY LEAVES
-bring a pot of water to a hard boil. -gently lower 6 large (from the fridge, cold) eggs into the pot. -boil for 10 minutes. -remove eggs and immediately transfer into a bowl of ice water (this method yields perfect, easy to peel, cooked-through eggs every time). BONUS: use this water for your plants after the eggs cool, feel environmentally superior for not wasting natural resources.
While your eggs are cooling, make the brine. You could wing this bit, doctor the brine from something in your fridge (as I do for the pickled veg for the crostini), or use the below suggestions. The important part is that the liquid be generally 2 parts vinegar and 1 part water, salt, and spices. I used white vinegar, whole coriander seeds, peppercorns, and a little sugar. In the same pot as you cooked the eggs, add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Carefully transfer brine to a heatproof jar, and using a box grater, grate one beet into the hot mixture.
Peel your eggs, and add them to the brine whole. How long you leave them in there determines how pink they'll get, but for the soft pink seen in my photos, I let them pickle for about a hour while I made the rest of this spread.
In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, mustard powder, and sweet paprika (my favorite is from Curio Spice Co.). With a sharp knife, slice the eggs in half, add a little of the mayo mix, a sprinkle of crunchy Maldon flakes and Aleppo chili, and finish each half with one or two fresh celery leaves.
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