I love plain hard-boiled eggs as a quick lunchtime snack, but when I have a little extra time, this is my go-to egg salad recipe.
You can absolutely eat it right from the bowl, or sandwich it with some homemade basil walnut pesto (recipe below) sliced avocado, and leafy greens between two slices of bread for a more hearty lunch.
Egg Salad Sandwiches with Lemon, Walnut Pesto and Avocado
In a medium bowl, mash the eggs into chunks using a fork or pastry blender/cutter. Stir in the mayonnaise, lemon juice, zest, celery and scallions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spread two slices of the bread with some walnut pesto, top with a few slices of avocado and leafy greens. Pile high with the egg salad, then finish your sandwiches off with the top slice of bread.
Basil Walnut Pesto
Traditional pesto uses pine nuts, which is something I don’t usually have on hand, so instead I like to sub in walnuts.
If you can find walnut oil, you can use that for an extra kick of nutty goodness, otherwise go with olive oil, which is what the classic recipe calls for anyway.
The nice thing about pesto is that you can use almost any herb and oil combination you like. It’s very forgiving that way.
In a food processor, pulse the basil, garlic and walnuts to combine. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the oil.
Add the cheese and salt and pulse until your pesto is fairly smooth and the consistency you want, then season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
Use immediately or cover the pesto with plastic wrap to prevent discoloring on the top and refrigerate any leftovers. Use within 3 to 5 days or you can freeze your pesto in ice cube trays for longer storage.
Makes about 2 cups.
