Ways to make your salad better: Add cured egg yolk

Serve up beans and mushrooms with egg and pesto


50 g. Baguio beans

15 g. enoki mushrooms

1 string of fresh dill (to tie around the mushrooms)

2 tbsp. salted butter

200 g. watercress (washed and dried)

5 tbsp. fresh tarragon

150 ml. olive oil

2 organic egg yolks

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce




For the grilled Baguio beans and enoki

  1. On an indoor non-stick stovetop grill or pan, heat butter then grill or pan sear the Baguio beans for 10 minutes and the mushrooms for 15 seconds. Set aside.

For the watercress tarragon pesto

  1. Place watercress, tarragon, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a blender and pulse until a paste-like consistency is achieved.

For the salt- and sugar-cured yolk

  1. In a square and airtight glass container, combine sugar and salt. Set aside 1/4 of the mixture.
  2. Using the back of a spoon, create an indentation and gently place the yolk in it. Carefully cover the yolk with 1/4 of the remaining salt and sugar mixture.
  3. Lock the container and let it cure for 14 to 16 hours at room temperature.
  4. Remove the yolk and gently brush off the salt and sugar mixture then rinse under cold water. Place on a dry paper towel.
  5. Using a fine cheese grater, grate the cured yolk on top of the grilled salad and pesto.

For the soy-cured yolk

  1. Pour soy sauce into a square and airtight glass container and gently put the yolk in.
  2. Cover and cure for 6 to 7 hours at room temperature for a runny cured yolk. Cure longer if you want it firmer.
  3. Assemble and serve.

This recipe was originally published in Southern Living, December 2017.

TAGS: cured yolk eats pesto recipe salad salad recipe watercress