Jacques Pépin's Caramelized Twist On Deviled Eggs
There are only a few truly inspired recipes on this planet, and deviled eggs have earned their rightful place on that list. The versatility of a hard-boiled egg is on full display as both the white and the yolk are transformed into a masterpiece of form and function. On top of that, it's a deceptively simple dish that can be prepared with relatively few inexpensive ingredients. A good deviled egg is a litmus test for chefs of all experience levels, as the nuances of getting everything just right are hard to pin down. Though deviled eggs may evoke cliched images of picnics or Thanksgiving tables, this is a food that can easily be worked into everyday cooking.
Take it from master French chef and culinary all star Jacques Pépin, who grew up with eggs as a prominent part of his family's home menu. In a 2023 episode of Lidia Bastianich's series "Lidia Celebrates America" on PBS, she welcomed Chef Pépin to her kitchen for a demonstration of a dish Pépin has dubbed "les ouefs Jeannette", or eggs Jeannette. Named after Pépin's mother, who first made this dish at their family table, this quick and herbaceous take on classic deviled eggs is a delight.
Making eggs Jeannette
To make eggs Jeannette, start with a few of your favorite farm-fresh eggs and boil them up. Remember to boil the water before adding your eggs to make sure the peeling process doesn't leave your smooth egg whites all pockmarked and uneven. Don't forget Jacques Pépin's spin test to tell if your eggs are boiled to perfection. Once you've got the eggs peeled, slice them in half lengthwise and pop the yolks into a separate bowl.
Mix a bit of minced garlic, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper into the yolks and add a splash of milk – this will help bind everything together and helps get the crispy, pan-fried texture that make these little guys special. Once you've got a proper filling, spoon the mixture back into the hollowed out eggs. For traditional deviled eggs, you want the filling to be piled into a pompadour-like shape, but here you want to make sure to keep the filling level with the surface of the sliced egg.
From here, you place the egg slices face down on a skillet doused with a bit of neutral oil. While those are sizzling up, throw some olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and a bit of water into the bowl with your leftover yolks and give it a stir. When the eggs get nice and crispy, plate them up and drizzle this dressing over the top.
Why eggs Jeannette are awesome
There is nothing wrong with a deviled egg to begin with, but one could make the argument that they aren't very texturally diverse. Jacques Pépin's family recipe addresses that issue with the pan fry. When you let those stuffed egg slices caramelize on a skillet, the crispy result adds a welcome textural contrast to the traditional deviled egg playbook.
On top of that, mixing the filling with some fresh, minced garlic and plenty of chopped parsley provide some nice color and fresh flavor to the mix. Die-hard fans of classic deviled eggs could still sprinkle these slices with a bit of smoked paprika, but you don't really need to do much else to add a nice herbaceous undertone to these tasty little snacks.
Perhaps the true greatness of this recipe comes from the mustardy dressing that finishes the dish off. At its core, the mustard flavors evoke a classic deviled egg taste while providing a slightly more sophisticated presentation. However, as this is a dressing of sorts, the process leaves room for home chefs to get wildly experimental with their deviled eggs at this phase, which is the mark of a good recipe.