Hi all!  I’m continuing on creating appetizers for an open house for Dot and Army to celebrate the opening of their new workspace and retail store in Downtown Brunswick, GA.  Please check out her beautiful collection of cloth napkins here.  Hope the crowd likes these Green Goddess Egg Salad stuffed cream puffs.

So…if you’re not a child of the 70’s (are there any of us left?), then you may not remember Green Goddess dressing.  I have to admit, I was never a fan.  Could have been the presentation.  This was represented as a green gloppy mess that was slathered on your iceberg lettuce salad that was topped with cucumber slices cut as thick as a fist and those shredded carrots that turn ashy white because they were exposed to the air so long.  And,  why am I painting this lovely  visual?  Well, it seems that Green Goddess dressing is making a resurgence.

When I attended the Research Chef Association Convention in Denver this year, Gerry Ludwig, who is a Corporate Consulting Chef for Gordon Food Service, spent some time sharing trends that he’s seen in full-service casual and fast casual restaurants.  His research gives insight into where food is trending and Green Goddess dressing kept coming up again and again.  So, who am I to fight it.  I truly think my dislike of it all is related to the 70’s version.

I’ve been looking for the right application with the right combination of ingredients to hop on this trend and I think this is it.  Hope you agree. I was inspired by Ina Garten’s version of Basil Green Goddess Dressing here.  She had the brilliant idea to add fresh basil to the dressing.  I think the basil, my favorite herb, elevates this to a new level.

The first thing to tackle here is “How to Cook the Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg?”  Wow!!!  There is so…much that is written about this.  For years, I placed cold eggs in a saucepan covered with salted cold water and brought it to a boil.  I then placed a lid on the pan, removed it from the heat and set the timer for 13 minutes.  And, this worked for me forever.  Then, it stopped working.  Can’t explain it.  Was I using a different pan?  I was certainly using a different stove – changing from gas to electric, so that was probably a big contributor.  But, the eggs were undercooked, or overcooked or didn’t peel.  It was a disaster.  So, I started trying any new method I found on the internet.

And, I landed on this comprehensive report from Serious Eats here.  This could possibly be everything you wanted to know about how to boil an egg.  I learned so much.  I followed their instructions to a ‘T’ and have never been disappointed in the results.

You place water in a saucepot and bring it to a boil.  Carefully lower your cold eggs into the boiling water, making sure they’re covered with water.  (I know this goes against everything you’ve been taught, but just believe…)  Boil for 30 seconds.  Lower the heat so that the water is simmering, cover the pot, and set the timer for 11 minutes.  In the meantime, prepare a bowl with water and ice.  Once the timer goes off, place the eggs in the ice water for 15 minutes. And peel under cold water.  You should have perfectly cooked, perfectly peeled hard-boiled eggs.

Now the question is how to chop those eggs for egg salad.  Well, you could do the messy job of chopping by hand, or consider these two methods:  1.  Use an egg slicer.  Slice the egg in one direction, make one half turn and slice again.  Or, 2.   if you have a cooling rack that you use for cookies or cake that’s made up of those little metal squares – you can place that over a large bowl and just push those eggs right through those metal squares and you’ll have perfectly diced eggs.

And, here’s the finished Green Goddess Egg Salad with the hint of green from the fresh basil and scallions and crispy bacon.  Yum!

You probably want to make the cream puffs first.  In a saucepan, you’ll bring the water and butter to a boil.  Add the flour/salt mix all at once and stir over heat until the mixture comes together and leaves a slight film on the bottom of the pan.

Place this mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for a minute to cool slightly.  Add eggs one at a time, waiting until the egg is completely incorporated before adding the next.  The mixture will still be thick.

Place mixture in piping bag with 1/2″ round tip and pipe onto foil-lined or parchment-lined pan in desired size.  If you have points on top, tap down with moistened finger.

If you don’t want to pipe, you could use a small cookie scoop and scoop onto prepared pan.  Bake at 375F for 15 to 20 minutes until puffs are golden brown and dry.  Let cool completely before filling.  These can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer until needed.  Let thaw and place in oven for 5 to 10 minutes to crisp up again.  Cool completely.  Cut thin amount off the top, fill and top.

I’m a convert!!

Buon Appetito!

Deb Farina

Yields 3

Gluten Free Cream PuffsGreen Goddess Egg Salad with Bacon and Scallions

Savory version of Pate a Choux Cream Puffs filled with an updated version of egg salad – Green Goddess style with crisp bacon and scallions.

15 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (8 ounces) water
  • 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, unsalted
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (4.4 ounces) Gluten Free Farina All Purpose Flour
  • 4 Large Whole Eggs
  • 12 large eggs, hard boiled and diced
  • 6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and diced
  • 1 cup prepared mayonnaise, I use Hellman’s
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 4 scallions, white and green parts, reserve some of the green part, sliced for a topical decoration.
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, I like flat-leaf
  • 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

  1. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining with parchment.
  2. Combine flour and salt in small bowl.
  3. In small saucepan, combine water and butter and bring to a boil.
  4. Add flour/salt mix, all at once, into the water/butter mixture and stir immediately with a heat resistant spatula or wooden spoon. Continue stirring, with heat on, until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan and a thin film starts to form on the bottom of the pan.
  5. Remove from the heat and place mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix 1 to 2 minutes to slightly cool mix.
  6. Add eggs, one at a time, waiting until the egg is totally incorporated before adding the next egg.
  7. Continue until all eggs are mixed. Mixture should still be thick.
  8. Place into pastry bag fitted with a 1/2″ round tip. I use the coupler.
  9. Deposit a round blob of pate a choux. For a small cream puff, deposit should be about 2 Tablespoons. If you are uncomfortable using a pastry bag, you could use a small cookie scoop and it should work just as well.
  10. If there are points on top, dip finger in a small bowl of water and tap down the point with your wet finger.
  11. Bake 400F for about 20 to 30 minutes until cream puff has puffed up and inside is dry. You may want to sacrifice one to test so you’re sure they are done.
  12. Let cream puffs cool completely. You can fill these by cutting off a small piece of the top. Fill and replace with top.
  13. If filling with a sweet cream filling, you could fill these puffs from the bottom. Leave the top on and, using a small round pastry tip, fill the bag with desired filling, and insert the tip into the bottom of the cream puff and squeeze filling into puff until full. Be careful so you don’t overfill and explode the puff.
  14. This batter is perfect for eclairs as well.
  15. In medium-sized bowl, combine hard boiled, diced eggs and bacon.
  16. In a food processor or blender, combine mayonnaise, basil, scallions, parsley, anchovy paste, black pepper and lemon juice. Process until smooth.
  17. Add sour cream and pulse just until mixture comes together.
  18. Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of dressing to egg mixture or use amount to desired consistency. Stir to combine.
  19. Cut thin top off of cream puffs and fill with egg salad.
  20. Decorate the top with sliced green scallions,
  21. Place top of cream puff on top. I like it off center.
  22. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate no longer than overnight.
Cuisine: FrenchAmerican | Recipe Type: Appetizer

http://glutenfreefarina.com/2016/06/05/gluten-free-cream-puffs-filled-green-goddess-egg-salad-bacon-scallions/

Available for Amazon Prime