Maine: Egg Salad

This was one of my favorite vacation lunches: creamy egg salad with string beans and tomatoes. So simple, so summer. The green beans were one of the vegetables that seemed to fare the best during this soggy Northeast summer. They were snappy, bright green, with wonderful flavor. I boiled them just a bit and then blanched them in a bowl of cold water and ice. The beans were then dressed with a mixture of lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. As for the egg salad, I think the trick is to not cook the eggs too much. A perfect egg salad egg should not even be completely set. I take them cold from the fridge and put them in boiling water for 8-9 minutes (depending on it’s size). Run it under cold water, then peel, and cut in big chunks. The middle should be very bright, yellow, and a bit soft in the middle. For the dressing I mix mayo, Greek yogurt, a spoonful of dijon mustard, a bit of apple cider vinegar, minced shallots, parsley, salt and pepper. If I have nice chives or scallions I might put one of them in too, or tarragon even.
We also ate it on top of Triscuits (I love Triscuits) layered with a bit of cream cheese, the tomato, and some cucumber relish that I made for hot dogs (more on those later).