Tarragon Shallot Egg Salad Sandwiches on Grilled Brioche

So, this sandwich:

comes really, really close to the dish I was trying to recreate. So close, in fact, that I'd call it a success! I accomplished exactly what I wanted, and it is really good.

While in Chicago I ate a fan-freaking-tastic meal at a small plates vegetarian restaurant called Green Zebra. My meal consisted of several small plates, including: fresh burrata cheese with satsuma tangerines, salted cucumbers, pickled red onions, and pumpernickel crumbs; udon noodles in a spicy-tart broth with squash dumplings and greens; an ice cream tasting; and my favorite dish of the night - soft-boiled egg salad with tarragon on grilled brioche. I've been day dreaming about it ever since.

I started looking for ways to recreate it as soon as I got home, and while I never found a recipe for a soft-boiled egg salad, I did find a hard-boiled salad that sounded similar and a recipe for brioche (I suppose, if you lived somewhere other than where I live, you could just go buy a brioche, but, like I said earlier this week, grocery stores around here kind of suck, so I was on my own). I soft-boiled the eggs and used the salad recipe, and it is perfection. Exactly what I wanted. And so, so good. It's quite time consuming, but if you're bored or in the mood to tackle a somewhat difficult cooking task (as I often am on weekends) do this. You won't regret it.

Tarragon Shallot Egg Salad Sandwiches on Grilled Brioche

Adapted from Epicurious

For egg salad

4 large eggs

1/4 c. light mayonnaise

1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot

3/4 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon, or to taste

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

For sandwiches

slices of brioche

butter

Make egg salad:

Cover eggs with cold water by 1 inch in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil one minute and then cover and remove from heat. Let sit 4 minutes. Flood pan with running cold water and let eggs sit for a couple of minutes until cool enough to handle. Peel eggs and finely chop. (This will be very messy with soft boiled eggs.

Stir together eggs and remaining salad ingredients in a bowl with a fork. (I stirred quite vigorously in order to get the yolks to blend into the dressing.)

Spread slices of brioche with butter and grill in a hot skillet until browned. Serve egg salad between slices of grilled brioche. You'll probably need a knife and a fork.