Deviled Eggs with Gruyère Cheese, Garnished with Dark Chocolate Shavings and Japanese Shiso Powder

Grove Ladder Farm’s egg layers are Rhode Island Red.  The first photo below shows the birds in the pasture and the second photo shows the Reds dutifully lining up to lay their eggs.

INGREDIENTS

6 farm fresh eggs at room temp (from Grove Ladder Farm here)
1 cup finely grated Gruyère cheese
Water (for boiling the eggs)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sherry vinegar
Kosher salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 to 3 cubes of Dutch dark chocolate (shaved with a fine microplane for garnish)Minimum of 72% cacao; will be slightly bitter but a perfect pairing with the Gruyère cheese in this savory dish (garnish)
Use as much or as little as you prefer

1 tsp Japanese shiso powder (garnish; from shiso grown in my garden, dried, then ground)You can replace with 1/2 tsp dried mint ground to a powder

For the less adventurous:

Garnish with chopped chives and smoked paprika instead of the dark chocolate shavings and Japanese shiso powder.



DIRECTIONS

Preparation:

Prep the eggs and the pot for boiling:Take the eggs out of the fridge and place on the counter top, let them get to room temp (30 minutes to 1 hour).
Place the eggs in a medium soup pot, add water to cover the eggs by at least one inch, remove the eggs; set both aside.

Finely grate 1 cup of Gruyère cheese; set aside.
Prepare an ice bath:Fill a medium to large bowl 3/4 of the way to the top with ice, add water to just cover the ice; set aside.

Boiling the eggs:Bring the pot of water to a rapid boil, carefully add the eggs, boil for 30 seconds, reduce the heat to maintain a light simmer, cover and cook for 12 minutes for small eggs.  (Add 30 seconds cooking time for every size you go up in the eggs, for example, 13 minutes and 30 seconds for extra large eggs.)

Shocking the boiled eggs in the ice bath:Immediately after the prescribed cooking time has ended for the eggs use a slotted spoon to quickly move the eggs from the pot of simmering water to the ice bath.
Leave the eggs in the ice bath for a minimum of 15 minutes, add more ice if necessary.  The colder the water is the greater the likelihood that the cooked egg white will easily separate from the shell when peeled.

Preparing the cooked/chilled eggs:One at a time, take an egg out of the ice water bath and gently tap all sides of the egg on the countertop or another hard surface, then starting with the rounder end of the egg peel the shell and thin membrane away from the egg under running water or in the ice bath.
Store the shelled hard boiled eggs in the fridge until ready to make the deviled eggs.

Make:

Using a very sharp paring knife slice the eggs in half lengthwise, wipe the knife clean with a clean paper towel after every cut.
Carefully take out the egg yolk and place it in a microwave-proof bowl, place the halved egg cut side up on a plate or cutting board.
After all the yolks have been removed and placed in the bowl, mash the yolks using a fork then add the grated Gruyère cheese, mustard, sherry vinegar, and a couple of turns of a black pepper mill (or to taste), mix well.The Gruyère cheese does contain salt, sometimes a lot of salt, so wait until your mixture is done then taste test to decide whether you need to add more salt or not.

Place the bowl with the yolk and cheese mixture in a microwave and zap it on high for no more than 10 seconds, mix again then begin to form small balls just large enough to fit into the egg yolk cavity of the halved eggs.Gruyère is great for melting but you only want to soften the cheese; it will work as the binder and because I am not using mayo this filling is not suitable for a piping bag.

Garnish with fine shavings of dark chocolate and a pinch of Japanese shiso powder.For a cleaner presentation move the garnished eggs to a clean serving platter.

Your deviled eggs using Grove Ladder Farm eggs, and garnished with dark chocolate shavings and Japanese shiso are served!You may have guests that aren’t too adventurous when it comes to food so you may want to make another batch using the same filling but garnishing with the more traditional chopped chives and smoked paprika instead.

ENJOY!

Deviled Eggs with Gruyère, Garnished with Dark Chocolate Shavings and Japanese Shiso Powder