LouieNep Food

Alexandra Stoddard’s Tea Celebrations: The Way to Serenity, from which today’s recipe hails, is not a cookbook. It’s a celebration of tea, a little book dedicated to the art and rituals of tea.

But is tea drinking really the way to serenity? I know Lorraine wouldn’t agree: every time I offer to make a pot, she gives me one of her sunny smiles, shakes her head, and says “Can I have coffee instead?” For her, it’s the scent of brewing coffee that lulls her into the best of moods on even the worst of days.

I, on the other hand, am a self-confessed tea lover- the fifteen or so tins and boxes of tea leaves at my bedside are testament to that. I’ve also been called a very serene person a multitude of times. Coincidence? Perhaps not.

Today’s recipe is one of my favorite “tea foods”: perfect, especially, with a cup of steaming Irish Breakfast with lots of milk and sugar:

Watercress and Egg Tea Sandwiches
In a mixing bowl, combine 6 peeled and mashed hard-boiled eggs, 2 bunches chopped watercress, and 1/2 cup chopped chives. Add half a cup of mayonnaise, some salt and pepper, a dash of Tabasco, and mix well. Cut crusts from your sliced bread of choice (they recommend pumpernickel, sourdough or whole-wheat bread. The latter is our favorite). Spread the egg and watercress mixture onto half the slices, and top with the other half. Lightly spread the outside edge of each sandwich with mayonnaise, roll it in some chopped fresh parsley, and serve.

I like to chill this before serving; the coolness of the sandwich seems to go better with the warmth of a cup of tea.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 14th, 2004 at 12:28 am and is filed under Comfort Food, Cookbook Finds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.