Farmhouse / Preservation Style

Pickled Shallot Eggs

A deeply aromatic preserve built around banana shallots, layered with herbs, spices, and eggs, and matured slowly in a rich brine. A reflection of old-world techniques brought into modern kitchens.

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Prep 20m | Marinate 1 week | Yield 2 quarts

PRESERVE • FARMHOUSE • SHALLLOTS • HERITAGE • PICKLING • EGGS

As seen in NYT

As seen in GOURMET

As seen in SAVEUR

As seen in Eating Well

As heard in NPR

A Culinary Reflection on Preservation & Shallots

It wasn’t until I walked into the Macknade Farm Shop in Faversham, England many years ago that my discovery of Banana Shallots was love at first sight.  Freshly harvested from a farm in Normandy, and whisked into England via the “Chunnel”, the shallots glowed with the light of farm fresh perfection. They were surrounded in a shop overflowing with all the good things organically grown on the Continent and spiritually centered on food for the soul.  England is often accused of being a culinary desert, but the Macknade Farm Shop proved otherwise.  And if truth be told, I brought those shallots home to Pennsylvania, grew them out, offered them to Seed Savers Exchange, and still wonder why they are not yet the darlings of American cookery.  Perhaps our chefs need to garden a bit to learn the remarkable difference between onions and shallots.  Here is a recipe to start that process.

Yield: 2 quarts (2 liters)

Ingredients

  • 3 1/3 cups (790ml) shallot-flavored flavored vinegar
  • ½ cup (375ml) dry white wine
  • 1 cup (250g) organic sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) sea salt or preserving salt
  • 6 large Banana Shallots (1 pound/500g)
  • 2 tablespoons (20g) yellow mustard seed
  • 2 tablespoons (2g) fresh thyme leaves stripped from their stems
  • 8 small fresh bay leaves
  • 3 tablespoons (25g) dried goji berries
    6 to 7 (15g) finely sliced green Thai peppers, or to taste
  • 12 eggs, hard cooked and shelled

Instructions


  1.  Put the vinegar, spring water, sugar, and salt in a non-reactive preserving pan and place this over a medium heat.  Allow the mixture to come to a full rolling boil.            

  2. While the brine is heating, trim the shallots, remove the skins, and then slice them in half lengthwise. 
  3. Set aside.  Combine the mustard seeds, thyme, bay leaves, goji berries and peppers in a small mixing bowl.  Place some of this mixture in the bottom of a hot, sanitized 2-quart (2-liter) canning jar and add 3 eggs and a few sliced shallots.   Continue in this fashion making layers of eggs, shallots and herbs until the jar is full.  

  4. Then add the boiling brine and cover tightly with a lid. 
  5.  Once the jar is cool, refrigerate and allow the eggs to marinate one week before serving.  

Note: The left-over brine can be recycled in salad dressings. 

Note: The left-over brine can be recycled in salad dressings.