Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

In food history, it definitely was the egg.

The early Christian Church chose the egg as a symbol of Easter sometime in the Second Century. A few thousand years before that, the Greek and Egyptian civilizations had already adopted the egg as a symbol of birth, resurrection and eternity. Like their Hebrew ancestors, Jews today still use the egg to represent God in the ritual Passover feast.  Hindus also use eggs to represent a Supreme Being.  I don’t know any examples of chickens achieving such lofty status.

Before the Twentieth Century, Easter eggs were more commonly decorative items, not intended to be eaten.  These works of art were kept for years.  In Germany it was common practice to etch the owner’s name and date of birth onto the egg.  As late as the 1880’s, Easter eggs were still recognized as an official record of a person’s birth date.

The egg recipe that follows is a mix of culinary traditions.  Deviled eggs have been around for more 2 centuries.  “Deviled” was originally used to describe any food remotely spicy, such as mustard, curry, horseradish or pepper.  Marbled eggs are a much older dish from China.  Partially boiled eggs are cracked and then returned to boiling water with the addition of tea leaves.  When fully cooked and the shell is peeled away, the eggs have the appearance of marble stone.  My version uses food coloring, which produces a colorful spider-web pattern.  Marbled eggs can be peeled and eaten whole or halved to create deviled or stuffed eggs. 

Marbled Eggs with Deviled Crab Filling

12 large eggs

1 small bottle food coloring

¾ cup plain nonfat yogurt or mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon style mustard

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed

2/3 cup cooked crabmeat

1 green onion, fined chopped

1/4 cup diced, canned pimento

Place eggs in a pot with just enough cold water to reach the top of the eggs.  Bring water to a boil and cook for one minute.  Lift eggs from water and gently crack eggs.  Pour the food coloring into the water.  Return eggs to the water and continue cooking for 4 minutes.  Let stand in water 15 minutes before removing.  When cool enough to handle, remove shells from the eggs.  Cut the eggs in half lengthwise eggs and discard the yolks.  Wipe away any fragment of yolk from the cavity.  Arrange the egg halves, cavity side on a platter.  Chill until serving time.

Whisk together the yogurt, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Stir in the lemon zest.  Mix in all of the remaining ingredients.  Transfer to a small bowl and chill. Do not make more than 3 hours ahead.  Demonstrate for guests how to stuff their own eggs.  Other filling possibilities include the traditional deviled egg mixture, curried chicken or a thick pesto sauce. Yield:  24 egg halves