Fourteen years ago, around the same date as today, I discovered I liked two things: egg salad and green olives. Even more surprising, I discovered I loved them together. This revelation —after more than twenty years of believing I disliked both— happened at my mother-in-law Dolores’s kitchen table.
Here’s how it went. I was five months pregnant with my first child and had been married for ten months. Eager to make a good impression, I called Dolores before my lunch break to see if she wanted me to stop by so she could admire my growing belly. She said, “Sure! Come on over! I’ll make sandwiches!”
I squeezed my belly under the table, sipped some water, and looked at the plate Dolores set in front of me. EGADS. It was egg salad—my long-time nemesis—and it was loaded with chopped green olives. There was no graceful escape.
I had to eat it and appear to enjoy it. This was my mother-in-law, after all. I took a breath, lifted the sandwich, and took a bite.
And I loved it.
It was unexpected. The briny, salty green olives cut through the richness of the mayonnaise that bound the eggs. What I had always found off-putting about each ingredient alone became delightful when combined. I tried to act as if I’d always liked egg salad, though I doubt I fooled Dolores when I ended up hugging her and shedding a few tears after lunch.
If you don’t have a gracious sandwich-making mother-in-law nearby, try making a batch of this yourself. It might change the way you think about egg salad.
Dolores’s Egg and Olive Sandwiches
Rebecca Lindamood
10 mins
10 mins
20 mins
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
For the Egg Salad
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- 2–4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2–4 tablespoons chopped green salad olives with pimientos
- 2 tablespoons minced sweet onion (preferably Vidalia)
- 1 teaspoon olive brine
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard or dill pickle juice
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- Salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
To Serve:
- 4 soft sandwich rolls or 8 slices of bread
- Optional: additional chopped olives for topping
Instructions
To Prepare the Salad:
- Place one egg in a mixing bowl and roughly chop it with the side of a fork.
- Add another egg and chop together. Continue until all eggs are chopped into pieces about the size of a piece of bubble gum.
- Stir in the mayonnaise, chopped olives, minced onion, mustard or pickle juice, celery seed, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Chill the salad until ready to serve.
- Serve cold on soft rolls or bread, topping with extra olives if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. Calculate values with the exact ingredients you use if precise nutrition data is needed.
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