A simple egg salad with celery and dill. Perfect for a quick, easy, and nutritious packed lunch.
I went for my first outdoor swim of the year this morning. Stockholm has had a less than pleasant spring, so the air was cold and my feet went painfully numb on the barefoot walk from the pool to the changing room, but the swim, it was glorious. Being that it was a crummy morning on the first day of the outdoor pool season it was sparsely populated with swimmers, and being able to stretch out along 50 meters is a pleasure I have missed for many months.
It's fitting that today is the kickoff of the outdoor pool's season, as today my dear husband, who I met in an outdoor pool, turns 40. I've known this number was coming, and obviously for a long time, but it's still so amazing to me that this incredible, infuriating, driven, passionate man of mine is 40 whole years old.
We celebrated on the weekend with one hell of a party (if I do say so myself), but Paul is nothing if not a man of routine, so today is not much more than a Monday. And on Mondays, for as long as I can remember, he has taken egg salad for his packed lunch.
What makes a good egg salad is not something that Paul and I agree on, so this is a nod to him in concept only. He prefers an egg salad with a little shake of everything from our spice cupboard, whereas I like mine flavoured simply with only one or two things. He makes his into a sort of paste; I prefer more texture with chunkier chops of egg and some crunch from celery or dill pickle. We do agree that it should be eaten open faced, however, he packs his with three heels of bread while I prefer mine either with fresh toast or served simply with crackers.
If you've been shying away from egg salads because you don't like the texture or you find it goopy, this is the one for you. I chop the eggs roughly, and use only enough mayo (real mayo for me, please, but if you're looking to lighten things up you can sub in Greek yoghurt instead) to hold things together. I use a generous amount freshly chopped dill, finely diced celery, and a touch of mustard powder to round it out. It can be packed for your lunch in a small container and then spread on crackers or toast when you're ready for lunch. Be sure to pack a dill pickle alongside - you'll be in for a treat.
Eggs are a natural, nutrient-rich whole food and an amazing source of high quality protein. In fact, many public health authorities use eggs as the reference standard against which protein qualities are evaluated. Eggs contain all 8 B-vitamins, along with folic acid. Vitamin B12 and choline are particularly abundant in eggs. Eggs are also a very good source of selenium and iodine. But what about cholesterol? Well, several large-scale studies conducted recently have suggested that the cholesterol content of eggs in relation to heart disease may be less of a concern than previously thought. Interestingly, a relationship between egg intake and an increase in HDL (good) cholesterol has also been observed. However, those with type 2 diabetes should speak to their doctors about including eggs in their diets, as there is a connection between egg intake and cardiovascular problems in that specific population. Is one part of an egg better than the other? As it turns out, the nutrients found in an egg are distributed fairly evenly between the white and the yolk. The white has more protein, magnesium, potassium, and B3, whereas the yolk has more omega-3 fatty acids, folate, choline, B12, and fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K.
egg salad with celery and dill
Ingredients
- 2 hardboiled eggs well chilled
- ½ - 1 tablespoon good quality mayonnaise
- 1 small celery stalk finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the eggs and roughly chop them, then place in a small bowl.
- Add ½ tablespoon mayo, half of the diced celery, half of the chopped dill, all of the mustard powder, and a bit of salt and pepper. Remember you can add more if you like, but you can't take it away!
- Mix the egg salad well, then taste. Add the rest of the mayo, celery, and dill as needed.
- Serve with hot toast or on crackers.
One year ago: Bodacious Burger Bowl
Three years ago: Broccoli Kamut Slaw
P Kosnar
Looks really yummy. What crackers did you use , they look great.
Katie Trant
They're Swedish seed crackers. Really yummy!
Ceri@naturalkitchenadventures
I'm kinda obsessed with dill at the moment and went through 6 bunches at the Scandi inspired yoga retreat I cooked at this weekend. Dill mayo a real favourite and I look forward to marrying it with egg again in this salad - delicious Katie! Oh and love the gherkins too!
Katie Trant
Dill is definitely hot here in Scandinavia! Dill mayo sounds great - I should whip up a batch of that and just have it on standby in the fridge!
kellie@foodtoglow
You make this JUST the way I learned to from my mother. I rarely ever have it these days (why??) but you have set me onto craving it RIGHT NOW. I haven't eaten lunch, and it is now almost 2.30 (oops) sooo, guess what I am going to go and do?? Hmm. PS cute story. I can't bear to even think about outdoor swimming right now. You are obviously much hardier than me! I blame my Florida upbringing for making me such a cold weather-ninny
Katie Trant
The water is the perfect temp! And due to the fact that all the cold weather ninnies (less common in Sweden, let me tell you) are still too chicken, the pool is blissfully empty. But this egg salad - I hope you enjoy it! How funny it's the same method your mother used 🙂