Devilled Eggs! Where on earth?

I can’t remember the first time I consumed a devilled egg. In fact, it has never even occurred to me to query where they came from.

That is, until recently, when one of our Iranian dinner guests – about to pop an entire devilled egg into his mouth – proclaimed gleefully,  “Oh, these are very British, aren’t they?”

At the time, I begged to differ as I have been offered stuffed eggs in Iranian homes on a number of occasions. This little savoury treat, usually filled with a mixture of mustard, mayonnaise, pepper sauce, pepper and salt has long been a favourite in our home. I have been serving them up at dinner parties for many years in different countries.

Devilled Eggs with a Middle Eastern Flavour

But the question did haunt me. I had to ask myself where the devil did they come from?

After some scratching around in the historical henhouse, I discovered that devilled eggs go a very long way back. Baskets of boiled eggs can be seen in hieroglyphic drawings inside ancient Egyptian tombs. The Byzantine physician, Anthimus, wrote in his de observatione ciborum (On the Observance of Food) that boiled eggs are excellent for good health and recommended we eat lots of them.

It was, however, the ancient Romans – seemingly the first people to domesticate birds for their eggs – who concocted the idea of the stuffed egg.  Or at least, they were the first to record it in a recipe. Apicius, a Roman food writer from the late 4^th century A.D. wrote the instructions for stuffed eggs in his book e re coquinaria (On the Subject of Cooking).

Apicius was the master chef of his day and On the Subject of Cooking appears to have been the go-to text in any Roman kitchen worth its salt. Contained in its pages is the trendy dish of boiled eggs, sliced in half and stuffed with a variety of ingredients and covered in a spicy sauce. They were served as appetisers to guests, reclining in togas on couches and drinking jars of wine.

Given that the Romans invited themselves into a large number of countries during their grand imperial tour, it would be safe to surmise that they also brought the stuffed egg with them to their new homes. Although stuffing the eggs with roasted flamingo probably no longer cuts the mustard in a modern kitchen, the devilled egg has remained on the menu ever since.

But where does the “devilled” aspect come from? Well, this is where the British influence does play a part. Apparently, in the 18^th century, English cooks spiced up their meat, particularly offal, by cooking it with cayenne pepper and spices. The association of Hell being a reputedly hot place ignited the notion of spicy food being cooked by the Devil! The concept of adding some satanic spices to other food led us eventually to the devilled egg.

I recently read that devilled eggs were also a Middle Eastern delicacy, served to honoured guests in many locations along the ancient Silk Road. I leave you with an exquisite recipe from this part of the world.

Devilled Eggs with a Middle Eastern Flavour

8 eggs, hard-boiled for about 10 minutes and left to cool

2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped spring onions

4 tablespoons of plain yogurt

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of lemon juice (preferably fresh)

1 heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

What to do:

Peel the eggs and cut them in half carefully. Scoop out the yolks into a bowl and set the egg whites aside.

Mash the egg yolks well and add all the other ingredients.

Stuff the egg whites with the mixture.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Spinach option: if spinach is your thing, you can add about 250 grams of cooked and shredded spinach to the yolk mixture.