Shallot, Chive + Pancetta Egg Salad

Let’s talk egg salad. First of all, to some folks those two words sound completely and utterly unappealing. People have a very volatile love/hate relationship with this particular food. I have honestly never been much of a fan of it myself, but one fateful afternoon at at an adorable bookshop in Portsmouth, NH everything changed. I picked up The Stonewall Kitchen cookbook (fabulous) and turned right to this recipe, now one of my most requested “hits”. The crispy pancetta/bacon is an explosion of deliciousness!! My husband warned me that he couldn’t stand egg salad, boy did his mind change. This one is super easy to make, the shallots and chives add a brilliant and unique flavor together. I spent the whole month of June in London on tour with my hubby, I was so excited to get back to my kitchen and this was the first thing on the to-do list! Enjoy…

~Scroll down for recipe~

“Hold On” Tom Waits 
  (One of the most stunning videos you will ever see!!)
“Radioactive” Kings Of Leon
“That’s The Way Love Goes” Merle Haggard
“A Song For You“ Donny Hathaway
(Just got to see Leon Russell sing this at the Ryman Auditorium…)
“Caleb Meyer” Gillian Welch

• 8 large eggs (local/organic preferred)
• 3/4 lb pancetta (about 8 slices) or 3/4 lb bacon (about 12 slices)
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 tablespoons fresh minced chives
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 8 slices of whole grain or sourdough bread
• 1 medium ripe avocado (optional)
• 2 cups watercress (optional)

Hard boil the eggs by placing in a large saucepan, add cold water to cover the eggs by about 1 inch, and bring the water to a boil. When the water boils, cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit in the water for 15 minutes. Remove eggs, peel and chop, then place in large mixing bowl.

While the eggs are cooking, cook the bacon or pancetta until crisp. Drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.

Mix eggs with mayonnaise, shallots, chives and salt and pepper. Add pancetta and stir together.  If using bacon, layer on bread after toasting.

Lightly toast the bread and pile with egg salad. Avocado/watercress optional to layer on top. Cut in half and serve!!

Jazz it up option-Spread 1 Tbls. of mango chutney on to the bread, top with egg salad and serve open-faced.  Add/subtract basil for watercress or chives if you run out…