DEVILED EGGS WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ASPARAGUS

This is a riff on a classic recipe. Yes, there isn’t any paprika in here, but don’t panic. What you get is a nice texture contrast of the crunchy asparagus and soft eggs. The goat cheese and lemon juice adds some tang, and these 2 ingredients will help cut through the yolks and mayonnaise.

INGREDIENTS:

boil, then shut off the burner and let the eggs sit for 12 minutes. Use a timer. Yes, a timer. Otherwise, you’ll walk away from the stove, overcook the eggs, and end up with gray-green yolks. That’s not pretty to look at, trust me on this! Cool, peel, and halve them. Carefully remove the yolks and reserve the whites.

If you use really fresh eggs, they will be hard to peel, so use older eggs. Or if you must use fresh eggs, after they are done boiling, dip them in super cold water.

Combine the egg yolks, mayonnaise, mustard, goat cheese, lemon juice, and chives in a medium, nonreactive bowl (plastic or glass). Season well with salt and pepper, then mix well until the yolks are broken up and the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Notice that I didn’t tell you HOWmuch salt or pepper to use. This is where your taste buds come into play. Start with a tiny pinch of each and then taste. Just fine? Leave it. Needs more heat? Bump up the black pepper. You get what I mean…

If you want to be real cute— get a piping bag and equip it with a star tip. Transfer your yolk mixture into the bag and pipe the mixture into the egg halves. Or, if you can’t be bothered and you would rather just start eating these lovelies sooner, spoon the yolk mixture into the reserved egg white halves. Top with thinly sliced, blanched asparagus tips.

NOTE: