Easter is my favorite holiday. Sadly, I am over-ruled by the menfolk, where Thanksgiving still reigns supreme in their hearts, but for me? Ahhh, I am all about EASTER!
Easter is a sweet, candy coated holiday of sunshine, candy for breakfast, and brightly colored family favorite dishes that make me happy to prepare, and also happy to just stand back and look at! What other time of year are our tables studded with colored eggs and jelly beans? My inner child is delighted by Easter, without fail.
Easter tables overflow with the colors of fresh and bright foods, spring flowers pop forth overnight, encouraging us all to come out of the dull, dreary, gray days of winter, into the quickly brightening days of Spring and indulge in sugary treats and lively activities...Egg Hunt, anyone??
It is a promise of new life, fresh starts, and for me, the light at the end of the long tunnel that is winter. Flowers start popping, tables overflow with candy colored treats, fresh air and sunshine become the star of the show as opposed to simply a distant memory from many months ago.
Then there is the egg, symbolic of new life, and the hope of unhatched potential as the centerpiece of Easter.
From the cheerfully decorated eggs that we hunt in softly new green grass, to the sassy devilled egg, to the brilliantly bold red beet egg, and of course, the special treat that is the candy egg, bringing out the child in all of us.
This is the first of three posts on Easter Eggs doing this week. It is my personal favorite, as well as the first one I make every year, because they need a couple day head start to be ready in time for the big show.
The Pickled Red Beet Egg.
My Maternal Grandparents are both from PA Dutch Country, and I have grown up with a strong PA Dutch influence when it comes to holiday food and family recipes. I cannot ever remember having an Easter without these gorgeously vibrant purple eggs on the table. In fact, most family picnics were not complete without them! Here are some of our Easter tables from years past; please note, the Red Beet Egg is ever present, adding it's showy good looks to a table already full of super stars, it is an absolute knockout!
My Nana always made the Red Beet Eggs, and hers were the best, hands down. Ten years ago, the first Easter we all had to struggle through without her, I decided I would take over her duty and make the Red Beet Eggs.
To say that first year was a struggle, would be an understatement. I did all of the things wrong, from using super fresh eggs (hard to peel), to not planning ahead of time (they need a good soaking, guys!), to forgetting the onions (essential!) and while I can laugh about it now, I can tell you there was cursing (so much cursing) and more than one egg smashed in frustration. God Bless the big man, for standing by resolutely sliding the occasional shot of whiskey in my direction as I muddled through peeling those bastard eggs. I felt like the world was against me.
I still suck at peeling eggs, it just isn't my thing. But Red Beet Eggs are so easy, it doesn't matter, I still made a killer egg, even if it was really, really ugly.
So even if they are not picture perfect, don't worry about it, I promise, no one will notice a couple Franken-Eggs in the bunch once they try one!
Red Beet Eggs are great for snacking, elevating your relish tray, adding a surprise element to a charcuterie board, casually parked alongside a sandwich, and of course they bring your Easter table up a big notch with their straight-up ballsy showmanship!
This recipe is a total snap, it is equal amounts of all ingredients, so it is easy to scale up or down with ease. I triple it and it is enough brine to do 2 dozen eggs and enough brine to last through several batches.
In fact, once I make the big batch at Easter, I continue to add to my brine, additional fresh eggs and onions well into June and the Memorial Day Holiday weekend until we are finally a bit sick of them, and then they kind of go away until I get a fresh hankering.
Basic Red Beet Egg Brine (scale up or down as you need)
1 can Sliced Red Beets
1 cup White Vinegar (you can use red too, this is super flexible)
1 cups Sugar (plain old granulated is all you need)
Guys- that is it! I told you this was easy. Ginger can do this, so can you!
You can jazz it up by adding cloves, or cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, or any other dried herbs that float your boat.
I have seen a lot of these additions online, but this is a Nana recipe and I don't mess with those, it is tradition, and therefore, not tweaked for fear of my family staging an uprising and kicking me out of my self proclaimed role of "family red beet maker".
So go ahead and play with it, just don't blame Nana if your eggs taste less than perfect or (gag) like cinnamon (I just don't get that one at all, shudder)
Make these eggs today and they will be ready in time for Easter, they need a minimum of 3 days, but the sweet spot is 5 or 6. They will last in the fridge for several weeks, however, after a certain point, they can get rubbery in texture (which I kind of like, in a weird way, but I know I am in the minority with that one). Not to worry though they don't last long once they are ready.
Gather The Troops- I scale up to make a big batch of brine - enough to do 1-2 dozen eggs
3 cans sliced beets 14.5 oz size (not pickled, just plain, store brand is my go-to)
3 cups Vinegar-I use plain white, but you can also use red wine if that is all you have on hand because of this stupid fucking never ending quarantine
3 cups Sugar
1-2 Dozen Hard Boiled Eggs- peeled
1 Red Onion- thinly sliced
Make Beautifully Festive Eggs!
Add first three ingredients in a large bowl, pitcher or jug and mix well until sugar has dissolved. Add whole peeled eggs and sliced onions, and mix gently to get eggs covered, some of them will float to top, no worries. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 days, but 5-7 is preferable (gently stirring the eggs once a day to keep them evenly covered) you want that purple to get close to the middle and evenly all around the exterior.
***Safety Note: I have seen recipes online telling you to pierce the eggs, please, there is no need to pierce the eggs, in fact, don't do this, it can introduce bacteria which can cause botulism, which is no bueno, just leave them whole and they will get where they need to be, patience, grasshopper!***
That is it people! Seriously, how easy is that? And look at how stupendously beautiful they are!
When serving, simply slice in half and serve with some of the beets and the onions. The sweet and sour red onions specifically are some of my favorite sandwich toppers ever! I love them on a leftover ham sandwich as a late night snack or day after Easter breakfast with ham and eggs on a crusty roll.
You can certainly add extra onions to the brine for the next few weeks too, and you will be happy to stuff them babies into all kinds of snacks, salads, sammitches, you name it! These are good onions baby! Here are a couple ideas from my kitchen to yours.
A gentle reminder: With all the eggs getting eaten this week and next, I feel it is necessary to warn you, it is not just Easter, it is also egg fart season, so feel free to begin using farts as weapons if you live with all boys, like I do...It's a good week to have them fear you and your weapon of mass destruction. XOXO - Ginger
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