Egg Salad Sandwich with Fennel & Radish

Egg Salad with Fennel and Radish | Jump to Recipe

I dig retro. But I’m totally not cool enough to pull it off. I could never decorate my house in mid-century style, for example, even though I love it. And I could never get away with Bettie Page bangs, or a culinary tattoo. It would look like I was trying too hard…the nerdy redhead, masquerading in stylish clothes to fit in with the cool kids. A poseur. But I can pull off a mean retro Egg Salad Sandwich with Fennel and Radish.

I recently purchased my first pair of reading glasses, because of a genetic predisposition for premature presbyopia (thanks, Dad). It took me a long time to find some that I thought were cute enough…I wanted equal parts hipster and sexy librarian. If I’ve got to wear ’em, I want to look fashionable, and kind of edgy, know what I mean? But there is one small problem–I’m not a hipster…or a sexy librarian….or the least bit edgy. My kids, experts in all things fashion, informed me that I looked “weird” and “old” in the glasses. Awesome….just the look a 37 year old, mom of 3 aspires too. Sigh.

But luckily, even though I can’t rock the retro home decor, clothing, or glasses, I can rock a retro recipe. Egg salad has come and gone on menus over the years, but for our family, it has never gone out of style. It’s easily adaptable, and I’ve seen all kinds on the interwebs, from low fat egg-white and yogurt versions, to curried and bacon spiked. However, no matter how it’s flavored, it’s muy  importante to start with perfectly hard-boiled eggs…which means the yolk must not have that ugly gray/green ring around it. Here’s how I do it.

How to Perfectly Boil an Egg

Perfectly boiled eggs are an essential component to this egg salad with fennel and radish. Nobody wants to see that gross, green coating on an overly boiled egg. Here is my no-fail method:

1. Carefully pierce the bottom of each egg with a needle.
2. Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water.
3. Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot and remove from heat.
4. Set a 10 minute timer.
5. Remove the eggs from the pot and place in an ice bath until cool.

I like to eat my sandwiches grandpa style, which for me simply means open-faced (my grandfather was Danish and only ate his sandwiches this way). I also prefer my egg salad the classic way–I don’t need curry, or bacon, or sriracha for it to light my fire. But the addition of some fresh fennel and sliced radishes give it a little bite, and a lot of flavor…just enough so that it doesn’t look like it’s trying too hard. Because nobody likes a poseur.

LOVE RADISHES? TRY THESE OTHER RECIPES:

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Gorgonzola and Radishes
• Cucumber Radish Avocado Salsa