Lisa's Spring Green Deviled Eggs

photo by Emi

Zia Lisa is quite often the smiling host of our Super Italian Sunday Lunches. It's almost humiliating how she always seamlessly prepares an infinite number of tasty and diverse treats and courses, apparently without ever breaking a sweat. For those of you who know some of Emilio's family, Zia Lisa (pronounced Leeza) is Zio Alfonzo's wife, Feli's stepmother, and a domestic goddess. Besides being an accomplished graphic artist, she is a magician in the kitchen. She continuously pulls out authentic and delicious family recipes from a seemingly endless supply. Last Sunday she once again delighted us all with a deliciously delicate egg dish.
It's basically a more sophisticated deviled egg, but much more flavorful than our traditional mayo-paprika variety. This recipe comes from the Piedmont region of Italy, which has a particular obsession with capers, an infatuation I firmly advocate. The parsley colors the creamy yolk filling a fresh shade of pale green, perfect for a spring appetizer.

This is the recipe as passed to Lisa by her 86-year-old cousin. They usually ate these at Easter and throughout the Summer.

Ingredients for 20 deviled eggs:
10 whole eggs
Tuna packed in olive oil - 160 grams (about 5.6 oz)
A nice handful of Italian parsley
Capers - 2 large Tbs.
A pat of butter
Mayonnaise - 2 Tbs.
Vinegar
Lemon juice

Hard boil the eggs*, peel and cut them in half lengthwise. Separate the yolks from the whites. If you wish, you can cut a thin sliver off the bottom of the egg white, so it will stay still on the serving platter. With a knife, carefully enlarge the bowls of the egg whites, so more filling can fit. In a food processor or blender, process first the capers with the parsley, then add the butter and the strained tuna. Lastly, add the egg yolks and the vinegar. Pour the mixture in to a bowl and add the mayonnaise. Stir, and add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Fill the egg whites with the mixture. Chill until serving.

*For a perfect hard boiled egg: Place eggs in a pot and cover them with about an inch of water. Cook over medium heat until they come to a boil. Promptly turn off the heat and let them sit for exactly 7 minutes, then throw them in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Adesso in Italiano...

DOSI per 10 UOVA INTERE (20 ripiene)
Tonno sott’olio - 160 grammi
capperi – 2 cucchiai abbondanti
Un bel ciuffo di prezzemolo
Una noce di burro
Maionese – 2 cucchiai
Aceto
Succo di limone

Lessate le uova, dividetele a metà, separate i tuorli; se volete, affinché stiano ferme nel piatto di portata, dagli albumi togliete una cupoletta sottilissima dal fondo, Allargare con un coltellino il foro da riempire. Nel tritatutto mettete prima i capperi e il prezzemolo e iniziate a tritarli, aggiungete il burro, il tonno sgocciolato dall’olio e continuate a tritare. Per ultimo aggiungete i tuorli con un cucchiaino di aceto e terminate di tritare.
Versate il composto in una ciotola, aggiungete due cucchiai di maionese. Mescolate bene, eventualmente aggiungete un po’ di succo di limone e farcite le uova.
Meglio servirle fredde.