Bagna Cauda-Bathed Egg Salad Toasts #KitchenMatrixCookingProject

Here we are at the third #KitchenMatrixCookingProject post for July. This month I picked the dishes with easy recipes to inspire some al fresco dinners. My family and I have been taking our meals outside often. On the weekends we have been eating every meal out there. And, during the week, dinners are served on the patio.

 We love the fresh air and warmer than usual evenings. 

It's a great way to spend a meal with those you love. 

Earlier we shared chicken wing recipes and gazpacho recipes; this week, I picked Hard Boiled Eggs + 12 Ways. You can read more about our project: here. We'd love to have you join us. 

The Other Eggy Offerings

An InLinkz Link-up

Bagna Cauda-Bathed Egg Salad Toasts
Though I was intrigued by the pickled eggs (don't worry, I'll try those soon!) and we are fans of anything with curry, but I really wanted to share my favorite egg salad with bagna cauda-bathed toasts.

First: I think the best way to cook eggs is to boil them for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat completely and let the eggs cool in the cooking water.

What really makes this recipe outstanding is the bagna cauda. Bagna cauda, literally translated as "hot bath," this dipping sauce appears in many Italian homes as part of the Christmas feast. Traditionally it's served with cardoons (you can read a little bit about cardoons in this post), but any vegetables will do. Diners dip the cardoons into the sauce and eaten with a slice of bread held to catch the drippings. When the bread is soaked with sauce, they eat it, too. And you start all over again. It's delicious and wonderful. So, I love that this recipe gives the bread a healthy drizzle of bagna cauda.

Ingredients

Bagna Cauda

• 1/2 C butter
• 1/2 C olive oil
• 20 anchovy filets (I used a 2 oz can of oil-packed anchovies)
• 10 to 12 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed

Egg Salad

• 12 large, hard-boiled eggs
• 1 T salt
• 1/2 C garlic mayonnaise (recipe below)
• freshly ground pepper for serving

Toasts

• 6 to 8 slices of bread
• olive oil for brushing
• 1 whole garlic clove, peeled

Garlic Mayonnaise

• 2 t vinegar (I used a white wine vinegar)
• 2 t freshly lemon juice
• 3/4 C canola oil
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and pressed
• 1 t salt

Procedure

Bagna Cauda

Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the anchovies dissolve and the garlic is soft and fragrant, approximtely 5 to 6 minutes. Keep stirring so the garlic Remove from the heat and let the bagna cauda rest in the pan. Before serving, stir to recombine the ingredients.

Garlic Mayonnaise

Whisk the canola and olive oils together. Whisk together the vinegar and lemon juice. Place egg yolk in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the garlic and salt and blend until the yolk is pale yellow, approximately 30 seconds. Add a few drops of the oil and pulse to incorporate the oil into the egg mixture. With the machine running, drizzle in the 1/4 C oil slowly until the egg and oil are emulsified. Turn off the food processor, remove the lid, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and pour in one-third of the vinegar-lemon juice mixture. Return the lid and pulse to combine. Repeat, adding 1/4 C oil at a time and 1/3 of the acid until you have used them all. You will end up with a thickened garlic mayonnaise.

Toast
Brush the side of the bread with olive oil and place on a griddle or grill pan until the bread is golden brown and crispy. Remove the toast from the pan and rub the oiled side of each toast with the garlic clove

Egg Salad

Tear the eggs in half to separate the whites from the yolks. Break the yolks in thirds and the whites into sixths. Place all of the pieces into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the eggs with salt. Add the garlic mayonnaise and stir aggressively with a rubber spatula until combined. 

To Serve

Give the bagna cauda a stir and spoon 1 T on each piece of toast. Spoon egg salad onto the toasts and sprinkle with black pepper. Serve with more bagna cauda for diners to drizzle on as needed.