Lemony Open-Faced Egg Salad Sandwich

This sandwich should really be called Arland's Egg Salad Sandwich- not because it's her recipe, or even how she likes an egg salad sandwich, but it's got her fingerprints all over it. To start with, after a week back East where fresh produce rarely crossed my plate, Arland brought me my first fresh slicing tomatoes of the season, knowing full-well that mine were still green and discouragingly hard. Next, she brought me eggs from her "egg lady." Let me tell you, these farm-fresh eggs are sooooo good. But that's really just the beginning of the story. If you've ever tried to hard boil a farm fresh egg, you know that the peeling part of the process becomes downright depressing. Boiling fresh eggs leaves your lovely and delicious egg looking like it's got a wicked case of the pox, with a significant portion of the white still madly sticking to the peeled shell. No bueno. BUT today I learned a secret to treating those beautiful eggs with the care they deserve. Thank you Arland for teaching me to properly steam an egg! Because I then had perfectly cooked eggs, I didn't want to hide them in a bunch of thick mayo, so I concocted something a little lighter to show those babies off, and to make use of those juicy heirloom tomatoes. It's light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day. 

Lemony Open-Faced Egg Salad Sandwich

Ingredients

5 fresh eggs, room temperature

1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, juice and zest

1 leaf of french sorrel, minced (if you can find it - if not, substitute Italian flat leaf parsley)

1 T fresh dill, minced

1 stalk of celery with leaves, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper (no Aleppo pepper? Substitute cayenne)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 large handful of fresh arugula

1 large heirloom tomato

4 slices of whole grain bread

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Makes two large sandwiches

Start by preparing your eggs. Put a steamer basket into a sauce pan with about a half inch of water in it. Over medium-high heat, bring the water to a boil. Place the eggs in the basket, dropping heat down to medium-low and covering. 

Steam, covered for 10 minutes for hard-cooked eggs. I like my yolks a little softer, so I only cooked mine for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest covered for 10 minutes. Place into a bowl of ice water and chill for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, start making the dressing. Combine the minced herbs, celery, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt, Aleppo pepper and mustard, whisking until emulsified. Pour into mixing bowl. 

Slice tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toast the bread, slicing on the diagonal. Peel and rinse the eggs. 

Cut the eggs on the diagonal into about 1/4-inch slices. Place gently into the mixing bowl with dressing. Fold the eggs into the dressing to combine, allowing them to sit for at least 5 minutes to absorb the dressing. Place the toasted bread triangles onto the plates, topping first with seasoned tomatoes. Add a layer of arugula next, topped with a heaping scoop of of the egg salad. Completely delicious and actually, pretty darned good for you too!