In the spring of 2014, I was eager to get back to canning after the long winter and birth of my son. There wasn’t much in the way of spring fruits at the market at that point yet, but I wanted to find something to get me back in the preserving spirit. I came across a recipe by the fabulous Cathy Barrow for Pickled Spring Onions in the Washington Post and set out to preserve some of the season’s first produce. As I made it, I wondered what I would do with this once I was done. Cathy listed several suggestions for using these, but I didn’t need to read much further when I saw a reference to incorporate these sweet and tart onions in to deviled eggs. I’ve made these now for a few parties and they are always a hit, as there are never any remaining at even the halfway point of the party.

This recipe makes a big batch, and I recommend making more than you think you’ll need, but feel free to scale it down as needed.

Pickled Spring Onion Deviled Eggs

Serves about 40-50 guests as an appetizer

• 36 eggs, boiled, halved and yolk removed
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used olive oil mayonnaise)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 jar pickled spring onions, drained (with liquid reserved) and chopped
• 3 tablespoons pickling liquid
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Smoked paprika for sprinkling

Add the yolks in to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk for a few seconds to break up the egg yolks.

Add in all of the remaining ingredients and whisk for 30 seconds until the mix is well incorporated and there are as few lumps as possible.

Transfer the mix to a zippered storage bag and snip the end of one corner. Fill each of the egg halves with the yolk mixture. Top the eggs with the smoked paprika immediately before serving.

If you want to make this ahead, you can boil and peel the eggs up to two days ahead, storing in the refrigerator. The egg yolk mixture can be made and refrigerated at least 6 hours in advance and the filled eggs, covered in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge, can be prepared up to two hours before serving.