Egg Salad, just writing the words puts a smile on my face.   I am not sure when the obsession with egg salad started, but it is certainly up there with fennel, cream cheese frosting and cucumbers in cocktails.  The problem with egg salad is that there can be so much variation in how it is made, I find myself almost afraid to order it in a restaurant unless I am absolutely sure it is made “my way”.

So let’s talk about where things can go wrong – and understand, this is completely my opinion, I think that egg salad can definitely be an emotional topic, where people feel very strongly that there way is the best.   I personally can’t stand Miracle Whip – I am not into that taste – I am a purest when it comes to mayonnaise.  I like Helman’s (on the east coast), and Best Foods (on the west) – it is the classic eggs and oil mayonnaise – and over the years, I have become partial to the “light” variety.  I think the regular version is just too heavy.  In addition, I like my egg salad to be heavy on the egg, and light on the mayo.  A rule of thumb for me is if you can take a spoon of egg salad, turn the spoon over, and it stays on the spoon, it is perfect.  You have to get the right portion of egg to mayo for that to happen.

Next is the celery – there has to be celery, and if there is no celery to be found, a substitution of fennel, red bell pepper, or something else crunchy will do.  You need that crunch to go along with the softness of the hard boiled egg.  Herbs are another plus – I love putting dill in my egg salad – it takes it to that wow level that I just love.  Then there are the extras when you put the sandwich together – like bacon, lettuce, even tomato goes incredibly well.  I have made mine with black olives, pickles, roasted red peppers, sprouts, the sky is the limit – as long as the base is good – it always comes back to the egg salad.

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light, and I had never made egg salad with yogurt before –  I couldn’t wait to try it.  This recipe was OUTSTANDING!!!  What a perfect recipe – the consistency was exactly the way I love it, the hot sauce was an amazing addition, the arugula was a welcome green, and oh those bacon crumbles.  An all around winner in my book – it was so good, I made it multiple times this week just to get my fill.  It was exactly what I needed.

Ingredients

• 2  center-cut bacon slices
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon plain fat-free yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6  hard-cooked large eggs, chopped
• 2 cups arugula
• 8  whole-grain bread slices