Spiced Egg Salad

Oh man, this is ANOTHER really surprising recipe. I don't eat egg salad. And I surely don't make it. But I just cracked open The Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson and this recipe for Spiced Egg Salad jumped out at me. This cookbook is filled with recipes for African cuisine. I am still very unfamiliar the spices, cooking techniques and even common foods. I think I have only tried African food one time and I let the waiter suggest something. It seemed like a perfect starting place for me because it is full of ingredients that I am familiar with (except for the bird's eye pepper, but I just used a jalapeno). There are no special sauces or spice mixtures I needed to make.

This is not your typical egg salad! No yellow creamy and tangy sauce. This is made with fresh global ingredients. The tomatoes make it refreshing. The eggs make it fulfilling. Peanuts add crunch and the spices add flavor. The cilantro and lime add the perfect finish. I hard-boiled the eggs the night before to save some time, but it is pretty quick to put together (buying fresh tomatoes and onions already diced would make it even faster). I love that it is served a room temperature. I think it's going to taste even better when I bring it for lunch tomorrow because the flavors will have been melding together a bit more.

I'm sure you can make a sandwich out of this, but I just ate it plain. I didn't want the bread to dull any of the flavoring. But I think it would go really, really well with a whole-wheat pita.

Since my first recipe turned out so well, I'm really excited for this book. Yesterday they announced that The Soul of a New Cuisine has been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award in the International category (I wrote an article listing all the nominees at PaperPalate.net).

Spiced Egg Salad (4 servings) 1/4 cup olive oil, divided 1/4 cup unsalted blanched dry-roasted peanuts 1 bird's eye chili, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped 2 small red onions, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder 5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped 2 tomatoes, chopped 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro 1 tablespoon soy sauce Juice of 1 lime 1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan over low heat. Add the peanuts and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chilies, onions, and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, ginger, and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

Gently fold in the eggs, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce, lime juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the salt. Serve at room temperature.