This egg recipe made me deep-clean my kitchen

Turmeric-pickled eggs mayo.

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My personal relationship with budgeting involves being about as thrifty as as I can most of the time, so that when I get an opportunity to spend on something really special, like travel, I can go for it. (I’ll share more on this soon!) Which is to say, I was recently lucky enough to travel to France for a week, where I, unsurprisingly, ate some of the best food I’ve had in a while. One of those instances was at La Buvette,¹ a tiny wine bar in the 11th arrondissement. Amid the perfect (affordable!!) glasses of natural wine, sausages, cheese, and a blessedly never-ending supply of sourdough, was a simple beet-pickled egg² topped with a heavy dusting of furikake. I knew I needed to try my own version.

I’m usually not a soft cheese fan; this Brillat-Savarin with a vein of black pepper at La Buvette changed my mind.

While beets (red and golden) make a strong natural food dye, as do red cabbage and some berries, I looked to pantry staples, specifically dried ground turmeric, for an even cheaper method. The orange-gold powder produces highlighter-yellow dye, and I bet you have some in the kitchen right now, as well as everything else you’ll need for this recipe (eggs, vinegar, salt, some other seeds if you’d like). Let boiled, peeled eggs sit in the brine for at least two days, as pictured in my images, or up to a week for a more saturated hue throughout the egg white.

The brine penetrates powerfully, and even after a couple days makes a deeply seasoned bite. To serve, you could go as simply as they do at La Buvette, or even just a pinch of chili flake. I personally like to nod to oeuf mayo (which has been really popping off in New York lately) with a squiggle of Kewpie over each egg half.

Pickled *deviled* eggs sound good? They ARE good. Here’s how: Pop the yolks out of the halved eggs and mash in a bowl with about 1 tablespoon mayo and ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard per yolk. Season with salt and pepper to taste, refill the eggs, top with smoked paprika.

After you’ve removed the eggs from the brine, make the most of it by pickling some vegetables (sliced yellow onion, cauliflower florets, radish quarters, cucumber, and/or carrot rounds take to the yellow color nicely.) Marinate those in the brine for at least 1 hour at room temp or refrigerate for up to 1 week.

This is where I would’ve posted a photo of what my kitchen looked like after I accidentally knocked over a full jar of the brine—alas, no evidence, was too busy scrubbing everything with baking soda to avoid dyeing my table neon yellow. I mostly succeeded. Instead, I give you the calm before the storm:

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Turmeric-Pickled Eggs (Mayo)

Serves 3-6, as a snack

Ingredients

For the pickled eggs:
3-6 large eggs (however many you think you’ll eat in a week)
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (optional)
1 cup white distilled vinegar
¾ cup water
½ cup pepperoncini or pickled jalapeño brine, plus a few of the peppers if you have them (or more vinegar—try apple cider or white wine vinegar for a slightly different flavor, plus ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal or 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground turmeric

To serve (as desired)
Mayonnaise
Mild chili flake, such as Aleppo pepper or gochugaru
Oil-packed anchovies
Furikake
Snipped chives

Method

Remove the eggs from the refrigerator let them come to room temperature, about 1 hour (to speed this up, place them in a bowl of very warm water for about 15 minutes.) Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Use a slotted spoon or spider to gently place the eggs in the boiling water, then reduce the heat to medium-high. For eggs with set but slightly jammy centers, boil the eggs for 8 minutes; for more firm hard-boiled centers, boil for up to 12 minutes. While the eggs boil, set up a medium bowl filled with ice and water nearby. Remove the eggs from the simmering water with the slotted spoon and submerge in the ice water. Let cool for about 15 minutes while you make the brine.

In a medium pot (use the same pot you boiled the eggs in: Just pour out all the water and quickly dry it by placing it back on the stove over low heat for about a minute.) Add the seeds if using and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the vinegar, water, pepperoncini brine, sugar, and salt until the sugar/salt are dissolved. Stir in the turmeric, cook for another minute, then turn off the heat. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

While the brine cools, peel the eggs by rolling them on a flat surface to crack the shells, then gently peel (doing this under the ice water can be helpful!). Rinse off any excess shell, then place the eggs in a mason jar (about 1-quart size is great) or another heat-safe container you can cover. Pour the warm brine over the eggs. Let the mixture come to room temperature, about 20 minutes. If needed, stir the eggs in the container to ensure each is submerged in the brine, then seal the jar. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 8 hours or up to 1 week (go for at least 24 hours to ensure a bright yellow color on the eggs.) Be ready to eat the eggs at the 1-week mark.

When you’re ready to eat, remove the eggs from the brine and dry gently on a paper towel. Halve the eggs and dress as you’d like.

1. Not to be confused with Buvette, another Paris (and NYC/Tokyo/Seoul/Mexico City, whew!) restaurant.

2. If you want to make the actual La Buvette beet-pickled eggs, there is a recipe in their beautiful cookbook, La Buvette: Recipes and Wine Notes from Paris.