Oct 5

Oct 5 How to Serve Oeufs Mayo

Here's how to serve oeufs-mayo (oeufs dur mayonnaise, or hard-cooked eggs with mayonnaise), one of my all-time-favorite classic French Bistro dishes. Scroll and learn--these babies can round out a meal in minutes.

Never underestimate the pleasures of oeufs-mayo!

I'll never forget the first time I had oeufs-mayonnaise in France. We were in a touristy little town (Eze Village up above the Côte d'Azur). We figured the food would be middling, but when Dave ordered a first course of oeufs-mayo—eggs with mayonnaise—I thought, really, how ordinary can it get?

Eze Village—have you been? It's a spectacular place, and it's also where I tasted my first oeufs-mayo. Thank you Paul Mead, for the photo, via Flickr.

But what came to the table was a revelation. Indeed, the dish simply comprised hard-cooked eggs with a little Dijon mustard-flavored mayonnaise, which I'm pretty sure came straight from a tube. But the accompaniments—a little lettuce, a few cornichons, and some olives—made it all into this really lovely knife-and-fork appetizer.

Since then, and especially during the summer, I keep hard-boiled eggs on hand in the refrigerator; that way, whenever I make one of my fresh-and-simple French salad, whether veggies, grains, or legumes, I have something to pop onto the plate so that I can call it a meal.

For my version of oeufs-mayo (aka the easiest version of oeufs-mayo ever!), I simply stir a great mayonnaise (like Hellman’s) with fresh herbs (parsley, chives, and/or tarragon are classic) plus some lemon juice and Dijon mustard to taste. Season to taste with salt and paper.

So, here goes. A few of my favorite ways to serve oeufs-mayo:

1. Serve oeufs-mayo as part of a sit-down appetizer spread.

How easy is this? Photo by my pal Richard Swearinger.

Roast some asparagus, set out some olives and prosciutto. Add some breadsticks. Then pass the platter for a great sit-down appetizer course. If you're lucky enough to live somewhere where you can pick up some good pâté, substitute that for the prosciutto.

2. Serve oeufs-mayo to round out a light lunch or dinner of fresh french summer salads.

Serve it with whatever salads you're craving.

The other day, I made my French Green Lentil Salad and a little mushroom-celery salad. Served simply with a good cracker spread with tapenade (which I always keep on hand) and oeufs-mayo, it was a great summer lunch.

I took this in my apartment in France. Everything here was available about six steps from my door.

Okay--this is cheating, because I didn't make any of these salads. I got them at the traiteur in Collioure. Tabbouleh, carrots râpé, and celeris remoulade, plus some charcuterie. If you happen to live near a French deli, this could be dinner tonight. If not, you'll have to make these goodies yourself.

Another variation on the theme, this time with my Butterhead Lettuce Salad with Walnuts and Comté (one of my favorites!), my Chick Pea Salad Provençal, a little prosciutto, and that cracker-tapenade song-and-dance.

3. Serve oeufs-mayo with ratatouille.

One of my favorite was to serve ratatouille...with a hard-cooked egg somewhere on the plate.

Ratatouille can be a bit of a mystery: Is it a side? A starter? A garnish? I serve it a lot of different ways, but here, it stars in an ensemble with my French Tabbouleh, a few ouefs-mayo, and some crackers with a little semi-ripened goat cheese.

Okay, mes amis! It's your turn. Tell me how you like to serve Oeufs-Mayo! I’m all ears.