A 60s styled amuse bouche – devilled curried eggs
I love these little devilled curried eggs. Who cares if they're considered a bit kitsch?
9 Jan Update: I’ve had to update the title after my mother-in-law informed me that she first had devilled curried eggs back in the 1960’s!
Nothing wrong with the past – things from the 60’s that I’m thankful for
Our best friends came over this afternoon as they’d been away for Christmas and new year’s, and as we’re all on that same ‘eat more healthily’ vibe, our plan was to try and make it a healthier lunch rather than a massive traditional Sunday roast style meal.
We told them we were going to have a really healthy and warming spiced ham, (butternut) squash and split lentil soup, followed by a long walk in the countryside. The soup we made was very similar to the one we posted a few months back but not as spicy as before in order to make it palatable for their kids (recipe here).
No problem, they said. That sounds lovely, they said; but we’ll sort out the mains. Only problem being that that was going to be a massive slab of uncooked foie gras they’d brought back from France, which we would pan sear together after the soup. I can’t even begin to tell you how lovely the foie gras was; it was simply melt-in-your-mouth heaven!
Some of the beautiful veg that went into our panzanella
Because pan seared foie gras is so rich, I knew we weren’t going to eat a lot of it so I thought we’d make an Italian panzanella salad to help us cleanse our palates a little afterwards. The foie gras was amazing, as was my panzanella, but in the midst of the non-stop nattering, I completely forgot to take any pictures of the salad and that was originally the post I was going to put up tonight.
Thankfully, I did make an amuse bouche for everyone, something which I haven’t done in months so I’m posting that instead. As we were having a spicy soup, I wanted an amuse bouche that had slightly curried undertones to match the soup.
The only thing I could think of making was some devilled curried eggs. I haven’t made or had these in years, and I guess I must have been showing my age as my friends laughingly turned around to me to said, “OMG, these are so 80s!” (They should have said 60’s to be accurate :))
I don’t mind the teasing though because I do love making and eating devilled curried eggs, and so did everyone else because these babies disappeared in seconds! Old fashioned or not, I’ll happily be making these again soon. Meantime, you’ll have to wait for my panzanella salad recipe till I make it again.
Why wouldn't I love the 80s? That decade represented some of the best years of my young childhood
I don’t feel too guilty about the amount 0f foie gras we ate either because despite the cloudy day, we did go for a very, very long walk after that, thereby justifying the additional marshmallows we toasted over our open fire when we all came back in from the cold. 🙂
Meantime, I’ll leave you with a little excerpt I found online about when the term ‘devilled’ food came about.
Have a happy and productive week ahead.
Lots of love
thebigfatnoodle
“Devil–a culinary term which…first appeared as a noun in the 18th century, and then in the early 19th century as a verb meaning to cook something with fiery hot spices or condiments…The term was presumably adopted because of the connection between the devil and the excessive heat in Hell…Boswell, Dr Johnson’s biographer, frequently refers to partaking of a dish of “devilled bones” for supper, which suggests an earlier use.”
—The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (pages 247-248).
[James Boswell lived from 1740-1795, Dr. Johnson’s biography was published in 1791]
Devilled curried eggs - I can only show you these because I again forgot to take pictures of the ones I topped with salmon eggs
Devilled curried eggs
7 hard boiled (large) eggs
2/3 cup of mayonnaise
Good pinch of salt
Squeeze of lemon
1 teaspoon of your favourite curry powder
A couple of drops of your favourite hot sauce
Good pinch of white pepper
(optional) Smoked sweet paprika for sprinkling
(optional) Small slivers of spring onions / dill for garnishing
(optional) salmon eggs for garnishing
Peel your hard boiled eggs and slice them in half.
Pop the cooked yolks into a mixing bowl and mash them with a fork.
Add all of your other ingredients and keep mashing to make it as smooth as possible. Season to taste, cover with cling film and pop them in the fridge to allow them to set a little.
When you’re ready to eat them, using a piping bag to pipe your egg yolk mixture back into your cooked egg whites and serve.
Garnish with a sliver of spring onion and a sprinkling of sweet smoked paprika and salmon eggs.
thebigfatnoodle 
Deviled eggs are one of my true loves in life. I can eat a 1/2 dozen and not blink an eye.
If my friends hadn’t been able to make it, I’m sure I could have very happily eaten all 14 halves! Now that would have created some disasters in the subsequent windy department so my husband must be grateful they showed up LOL
I love a GOOD Deviled Egg:)
Me too!
I love them too, and these look so sweet in their long dish! My eggs are laying like crazy at the mo, so i might make these soon! c
Thanks. The dish actually comes with 3 square bowls for mini pretzels and olives (a gift from my husband’s nanny), hence the peak of a motif you can probably just about see. I’ve always dreamed of collecting eggs and having a super fresh one, I’m sure they must make such a difference taste-wise, and how rewarding to feel more self sufficient as your farm develops.
Yeah, I say “boo” to the people who don’t eat stuff just because they think it’s out of date. I mean, come on… there’s a reason that things like these and prawn cocktails got popular in the first place… it’s because they’re freaking delicious!
I haven’t had devilled eggs in AGES! Yours look so good, with the little sliver of onion on top… so tasty! Thanks for sharing and reminding me to get my “80s” on 🙂
You’re absolutely right. Prawn cocktails are awesome!!! They’ve never gone out of fashion, like prawn and avocados…
These deviled eggs look delicious, and I’m jealous of those ingredients that went into your panzanella!
It was a good panzanella and I’m still kicking myself for not taking pictures.
Very nice and tasty deviled eggs my friend.
Deviled eggs NEVER go out of style! I love them made with curry and yours look beautiful.
Thanks, I love the particular curry powder I have and it worked so well.
I first had devilled eggs when Gerry and I went to live in Dominica in 1969. I was asked to help prepare them by the hostess and had to be told how to do it. No devilled eggs in my past either at uni or backat home. your recipesbrigs back fond memories.
MumX
I stand corrected… Nick said I should have put the 70’s but he’s obviously wrong too then.
I haven’t had devilled eggs, for years, probably since the 80s! But now I want some! Oh, and I love the word amuse bouche 🙂 A perfect description for these cheeky fellows!
I have a bit of an obsession with amuse bouches, love them!
I don’t think deviled eggs every go out of style! And your presentation is very trendy!! It seems like these always go over well at any party!
Yes I’m glad I made them now but my husband’s still worried about the consequences. Our friend was rather ‘fragrantly active’ in the afternoon and I was blamed for it! LOL
wow, these are some awesome photos, I think these need to be in a cook book…. !!!! Hint Hint…
Pfffff, you are really sweet but I’m seriously nowhere near good enough. It’s not like I’m creating super new dishes but I am happy to accept your lovely compliment in the spirit it was intended :))
Deviled eggs have a rich history in the southern U.S. And one thing’s for sure – they’re ALWAYS popular. I love to make these when I have people over and they are gobbled up every time. I’ve had them curried and they are also fantastic combined with crab meat, a bit of smoked salmon, topped with a slice of jalapeno – the possibilities are practically endless —–
I seriously didn’t know that but I’m glad I do now. And i love the idea of adding crab meat and can actually imagine how they’d taste… Awesome, thanks!
HA that’s awesome! I was looking up 60s inspired appetizers last night and saw deviled eggs too! Great post 🙂
You and my mother-in-law have now made me realise that it’s actually the 60’s that deserves all the credit for this gem. Cool 🙂
LOL oh well, it sure carried through to the 80s and I can attest to that 😉 x
As Nigella Lawson once said (and I paraphrase): some foods are too delicious to fall out of fashion, with which I wholeheartedly agree. Thanks for the recipe!
Did she really? Awesome 🙂
My mom used to make devilled eggs in the 70s for their parties! I made some a couple of years back but I used small eggs so they could be easily popped into your mouth! A long walk after foie gras sounds perfect!
I did buy some quails’ eggs over the holiday and that had been my original idea but didn’t end up having time.
Eggs and curry are certainly a match made in Heaven rather than Hell, so these might better be known as Angelic Eggs–but whatever the title, they are a decidedly worthy treat. I’ll bite!
You’re right – it’s not right they’re associated with bad rather than good but the amount of mayo probably doesn’t help 🙂