Devilled Eggs - perfect Garden Party food

Halved eggs with a spicy filling, sitting on their own lettuce cups. Easy finger food.

Devilled Eggs in Lettuce Cups

The perfect finger food, so simple. These are found on all buffet tables in Scandinavia.  I generally allow one egg half per person, but you know the hungriness of your own family and friends best. For 6 people I have used 4 eggs in this recipe which gives you some leeway if an egg is a funny shape inside and won’t be stuffed, or to give someone second helpings. Use more eggs if your group of 6 is a hungry bunch and they’ll want two halves each.

This recipe is from my Summer of Six menu, from Malmo to Malaga. Head over to the Summer Garden Party menus for lots more ideas what to feed your friends when you hold a party in the garden and you want something more adventurous than a barbeque.

Serves 6               Timings:  50 minutes – 10 minutes to boil the eggs, 20 minutes to cool down, 20 minutes preparation

• 4 eggs
  
• 2 anchovy fillets in oil
  
• 50g butter, softened.
  
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  
• 1 teaspoon English mustard
  
• ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
  
• ½ teaspoon paprika
  
• 1 little gem lettuce

 
Hard boil your eggs: boil for about 10 minutes and then run them under cold water until they have cooled down a bit.

Wash the lettuce and separate the leaves.

In a small bowl mash the anchovy fillets with the back of a teaspoon into the mustard – you will get a lumpy creamy texture. Mix in the mayonnaise and add the butter to the bowl.

Peel the eggs under running cold water – this helps get the shell off without sticking to the white. Halve the eggs top to bottom, being careful to keep the halved whites whole.  To make the whites stand better you can cut a very thin sliver off the underside. Scoop out the yolks with a teaspoon and put them in the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well. The remaining warmth of the yolks will just melt the butter into everything else and turn it into a creamy paste. Adjust the seasoning if needed, you might want a grind of pepper.

Scoop the mixture into a piping bag, using a big star nozzle and fill each egg half with a generous portion. Place each egg half onto its own lettuce leaf cup and sprinkle a tiny dusting of paprika over.
They’ll keep in the fridge covered for an hour.

Serve as they are on their little lettuce plates.