Chef Thomas
A British BLT
Back bacon crisped in a hot pan, a ripe tomato that actually tastes of something, crisp lettuce and real butter on proper toast. A sandwich that earns its place in the notebook.
Culinary Explorer
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Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich
Created by Chef Thomas
Chopped eggs folded into good mayonnaise with a touch of mustard and white pepper, spread thickly on soft buttered bread, then cut corner to corner because that is how a proper sandwich is made.
Sandwiches & Wraps
British
Quick Meal
Budget Friendly
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield2 sandwiches
Some meals are too simple to write recipes for. This is nearly one of them. Boil eggs, chop them, stir in mayonnaise, put it on bread. A child could do it and often does, standing on a stool at the kitchen counter, shell fragments on the worktop, the eggs slightly overcooked. Those sandwiches taste as good as any.
But there is a version of this that is worth paying attention to. Eggs from a good hen, the yolks deep gold rather than pale yellow. Proper mayonnaise, not the sweet, vinegary sort that comes in a squeeze bottle. White pepper, which warms without shouting. And soft bread, buttered to the edges, because the butter stops the mayonnaise soaking through and turns the whole thing into something that holds together in your hand.
I wrote it down in the notebook years ago: eggs, mayo, white pepper, Tuesday. It didn't need more detail than that. This is lunchbox food, picnic food, the thing you make when there is nothing in the house and somehow it turns out to be exactly what you wanted. We're only making a sandwich. But a sandwich made with care, eaten at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and the window open, is a meal worth sitting down for.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
free-range eggs
Quantity
4 large
good mayonnaise
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Dijon mustard
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
white pepper
Quantity
to taste
soft white bread
Quantity
4 slices
unsalted butter
Quantity
for the bread
softened
watercress or cress (optional)
Quantity
small handful
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| free-range eggs | 4 large |
| good mayonnaise | 3 tablespoons |
| Dijon mustard | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| white pepper | to taste |
| soft white bread | 4 slices |
| unsalted buttersoftened | for the bread |
| watercress or cress (optional) | small handful |
Equipment Needed
- •Small saucepan
- •Slotted spoon
- •Chopping board and knife
Instructions
- 1
Boil the eggs
Lower the eggs into a pan of boiling water with a slotted spoon so they don't crack on the bottom. Let them boil for nine minutes. Not eight, which leaves the yolk too soft for this. Not eleven, which gives you that grey ring and a chalky centre. Nine minutes, then straight into cold water. Let them sit until they're cool enough to handle.
Eggs that are a few days old peel more easily than fresh ones. If your eggs are from the market this morning, you'll be picking at the shell in small, irritating fragments. Use yesterday's eggs and they'll come away cleanly. - 2
Chop and season
Peel the eggs and chop them on a board. Not too fine. You want some pieces the size of a small marble, others broken down to a rough crumble. The mix of textures is the thing. Scrape them into a bowl, add the mayonnaise and mustard, and fold it together gently with a fork. Season with salt and white pepper. Taste it on the tip of your finger. It should taste rich and savoury with a quiet warmth from the pepper. If it tastes bland, it needs more salt.
- 3
Butter the bread
Butter the bread to the edges. This matters more than people think. The butter isn't just for flavour, though it gives plenty of that. It stops the mayonnaise soaking through and turning the bread damp. Soft white bread, the kind that gives slightly when you press it. Nothing with seeds or grains. This isn't the sandwich for ambition.
- 4
Fill and cut
Spoon the egg mayonnaise onto two slices of bread and spread it generously, right to the corners. Nobody wants a mouthful of dry bread from the edges. If you have watercress or cress, press a few sprigs into the filling. Close the sandwiches and cut corner to corner. Triangles, always. I can't explain why this matters, but it does.
Chef Tips
- •The eggs are everything. Free-range, from a hen that has seen daylight and eaten something besides grain. The yolk will be deeper in colour and richer in flavour, and in a dish this plain, you'll taste the difference immediately.
- •Make your own mayonnaise if you have ten minutes and a steady hand. Two yolks, a teaspoon of mustard, a slow pour of neutral oil, a squeeze of lemon. But if you're using a jar, find one you trust and don't apologise for it. A good shop-bought mayonnaise, the kind made with egg yolks and oil rather than modified starch, is a perfectly decent thing.
- •White pepper, not black. It dissolves into the filling without leaving dark specks on the egg, and its warmth is gentler, more suited to the quiet character of this sandwich. Season more than you think. Cold food needs more seasoning than hot because your palate is less receptive at lower temperatures.
- •Cut the sandwiches into triangles. I have no rational defence of this. But a square-cut egg mayonnaise sandwich is, to my eye, a lesser thing. Corners to corners. There's something about the pointed end that gives you a proper first bite.
Advance Preparation
- •The eggs can be boiled and refrigerated a day ahead. Peel and chop them when you are ready to make the sandwiches.
- •The egg mayonnaise filling keeps in a covered bowl in the fridge for a day, though it is best made fresh. Stir it before using if it has been sitting, and taste again for seasoning.
- •Do not assemble the sandwiches more than an hour or two before eating. The bread softens the longer it sits. This is a sandwich best made and eaten within the same half hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 210g)
Calories
530 calories
Total Fat
37 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
25 g
Cholesterol
400 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
31 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
19 g
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